Mermaid's Glow
by Nioma Maxwell
Summary: When a Mer meets their soulmate, they Glow. Lance hadn't been too interested before, until he meets a strange Mer. Keith gets bitten by a mermaid and begins to experience changes.
1. Chapter 1 Bitten

Disclaimer: I don't own characters, just the story and world I built.

This is a Mermaid au I'm jumping on board with. I hope I finish this, I'm doing this for Nanowrimo so cross your fingers.

Chapter One: Bitten

Keith was still reeling with questions and stunned shock as his body switched to autopilot and he jumped onto the creature to fight it down. The humanoid looking sea monster was thrashing and throwing people off it left and right, as the seamen tried to throw nets and rope to tie it down. The creature screamed deafeningly and sliced through the rope with sharp claws and teeth as terrifying as looking into the maw of a shark. It would have otherwise been a beautiful creature, if its anger didn't make it look monstrous.

Keith's brain didn't catch up with him till he had latched onto the creature's tail and stabbed it with a knife. In retrospect, he could have done something less dangerous.

"Keith! What are you doing?!" Shiro's voice cut through his haze and finally brought him back to viewing his actions. Just in time to get thrown off and into a create. The monster screamed in pain and turned to him, throwing itself with such force a creature from water should have been able to do that it was right on him in one jump. "Keith!"

His knife went right through the creature's throat as it bit down on his wrist and shredded his ligaments. His scream was almost as loud as the creature.

The creature didn't let go, no matter how hard he tried to throw it off him. Its teeth were latched onto his arm as much as his knife was lodged into its throat, and it was still alive. "Arghugh! Get off!" He tried kicking at its chest, but pain shot through his arm from the near ripping out of his arm, and he was sure a bone cracked. He tried again, but this time the creature pushed back, stronger than any human he had faced.

The creature let out a high pitched scream and let go suddenly. Keith pulled back, crawling away from under it, and finally saw what had stopped it. Shiro was standing above it, a spear thrust through its heart. The creature went limp, and everyone took a breath they didn't know they had been holding.

Shiro dropped the spear and fell back onto the deck, taking deep breaths to calm his thumping heart and collect his thoughts. "Keith, are you okay?" But Keith was on the deck, writhing in pain and gripping his arm like he was trying to keep it from falling off, and holding in as much of his screams as he could. "Keith!"

"Get some medical supplies!" One of the crew members yelled out, and several others scrambled about.

Keith tried looking at anything but his arm and focused in on the creature that had torn into it. Its face was empty and its eyes were void. Blood poured from the stab on its tail and the spear through its heart, tainting and dulling the scales over its half humanoid form. It would have been a shiny, beautiful kaleidoscope of pinks and reds. How could such a beautiful creature been so dangerous? And the most terrifying part? How human its face was.

"Keith, stay with us!" He hadn't even realized he was losing consciousness until his vision nearly blurred out and he felt gravity wrap itself around him and yanked him to the ground. He was caught by Shiro, cradling him and trying to keep him conscious, but his voice was becoming distant. The last thing he saw was the face of worry and the clear blue sky of a calm, peaceful day.

—

He heard his own voice calling out before the others in the room. He didn't even know what he was saying, only that he felt like he was spinning in his own head. At least the pain was gone. Mostly. It was what woke him up. He couldn't tell where it was coming from, only that it hurt.

"-eith. Keith. Can you hear me?" The face came into focus, but the rest of the room didn't. He felt relieved to see that Shiro was the first person he saw.

"Hey." His voice felt more strained than it sounded.

Shiro's worry didn't leave his face. "Are you okay?"

"Probably not."

Shiro chuckled. "Well, at least I know you still got your sense of humor."

"This is how we know you two are related. You only joke in morbid sarcasm." The voice was familiar, but he couldn't place it. He tried searching for the owner, and his eyes fell on a blonde with a barely noticeable scar on his left cheek. Wait, he knew him, but his mind was drawing a blank. Why was his head so fuzzy?

"Wha…"

"Don't try to think too hard, the anesthesia hasn't fully worn off."

"Get ready for worse humor then."

"He sounds alright to me." Came a third voice. How many people were in the room? "Can you feel anything?"

He had to think about it. There was pain, but he didn't know where it was coming from. Other than that, nothing else. "Something hurts…"

"That would be your arm." He was starting to recognize that voice. He knew this person well. He turned his head to look, but realized that was a mistake.

"Whoa, don't move too fast." Shiro must have grabbed him, because he didn't feel like he was about to topple over anymore. "You need to take it easy, possibly sleep a little more."

"What happened?" He was drawing a blank, but not enough to think he couldn't remember. He _felt_ like he knew, his brain just wasn't functioning right at the moment.

"You were hurt, but you're okay. Just try to rest."

He wanted to shoot back that he didn't want to rest anymore, but his body must have wanted to comply. Because in the next couple of seconds, he was out again.

—

The next time he woke, he was more coherent. Unfortunately (or fortunately, considering he was a recluse), there was no one else in the room. The lights were dim and the darkness from the window told him roughly what time of day it was. It didn't tell him _what_ day it was, though. He gave himself time to adjust to his current situation.

He started with a linear outline, beginning from how this all started.

He could finally remember the names of the people in the room with him earlier. Matt and Katie Holt. they worked with there father Samuel Holt, who was a prestigious Marine Biologist. They finally got permission to change their exploration territory to a location with deeper depths. He was part of a team that got the first priority for new discovery. His kids, Matt and Katie (who actually goes by Pidge, but he doesn't have the backstory to that) weren't necessarily in the same field as him, but their talents contributed to the mission.

Matt was a communications specialist, and was able to decode everything from radio waves to mathematic algorithms. His talent made him known for being able to come up with a translation to whale and dolphin songs. It wasn't enough to communicate with, but it wouldn't be long before he figured out how to do it. In the mean time, he was able to decode vague impressions the mammals spoke to each other with and helped to learn a lot about the ocean and its influence over global currents. He could read and interpret the sonar waves used to scan the ocean floor and the creatures within it down to the smallest plankton.

He was the one who discovered the creature.

They were first curious about its mass and size. It had dorsal and tail fins that beat vertical like mammals, but it didn't seem to have any features that could link it to needing air to breathe. The shape was odd too. Mostly by the arm-like fins coming from the side of its body.

Of course, they realized when they pulled it up that it was because it was humanoid.

The shock and awe from the sight of it when they fished it out of the sea left a knot in the pit of Keith's stomach. As much as he was amazed at what they had found, he was the most on guard when it started attacking.

A mermaid. A real, live mermaid. A creature of legend and folklore. There was no evidence of real creatures like them in the fifty years of exploration humanity has been able to discover from its ocean. There were faked footage and replicated skeletons proven to be false, so there was nothing ever solid to prove their existence.

Until now, he guessed. Unless there was some sort of conspiracy. Maybe the government was keeping them secret like aliens? He would have almost been excited if he didn't remember how horrifying that thing was.

He had to close his eyes just to push back the memories. That thing was able to tear through rope and splinter up the deck. Anyone who got near was slammed by its tail and thrown at least 3 meters away. A couple of people had been thrown overboard. He wondered if they ever got them out. Keith the the only one to grab on long enough to hurt it. He hadn't thought beyond stabbing it in the tail. He only focused on stopping the thing that was attacking them. Unfortunately, his single-mindedness zoned in on the tail, instead of the whole creature. If he had jumped onto its back and stabbed it in the neck, he might have been able to avoid getting thrown off and bitten. He didn't usually think before reacted.

He looked at the cast that was thickly wrapped around his arm. he wondered how bad it was. It wasn't amputated, so maybe it wasn't that bad? He felt like a chunk of it had been ripped off. The teeth in that thing looked as sharp as knives, reminding him of sharks. He even thought he might have seen several rows. He probably had a missing chunk of flesh where his wrist should have been. He might never be able to use his hand again.

He concentrated on his fingers, focusing of them as they stuck out of the cast, and flexed them. He must still have enough ligaments to work them, so that was good. Maybe it hadn't pulled off as much as he thought it did.

He was tired of thinking. He wanted to know what was going on. He wanted to know what day it was. How long had he been asleep? He sat up relatively easy, holding his arm close to his chest. He would need a sling. He felt a little stiff, but that was probably from laying in bed for so long. He had no trouble standing and leaving the room.

"Keith!" He looked up to see a crew member. "You're awake! Good to see you not looking like shredded flesh."

 _Oh, that guy_. He forgot his name but he remembered he found him annoying. He didn't even acknowledge him as he walked down the cabin hall and up onto the deck.

There was barely anyone outside but the night was bright enough with the stars lighting up the sky. They looked a little weird from this angle, and it took him a moment to realize they were headed back to the mainland.

Shiro was the Navigator. He was the best they had. Keith wanted to follow in his brother's footsteps, but that dream shattered when he flunked out of college in his first semester. He hadn't even done well in high school, but he fixed that with his GED. Shiro suggested online schooling, but there was no college that offered a degree like Shiro's with those types of classes.

He didn't want to bother with school anyway. He was sick of it. Training to be a sailor was good enough, even if he never got his certificate. If he could ride alongside Shiro, that's all that counted.

This was his first time out to sea. Before, he had been stuck with school; but since he dropped out he had free time to sail with his brother. He had been on boats before, but never a ship.

It was exciting, at the time.

"Keith, you're awake." Shiro was standing beside him, his hand on his shoulder. "How are you doing?"

"Better than I thought I would be." The ocean was calm beyond the wake from their ship. "What happened?" He looked at Shiro. "Was that actually a…"

Shiro shook his head. "We don't know anything for sure. Dr. Holt is examining it now."

"Are they going to dissect it?"

"Probably." Keith didn't know how to feel. The thought of dissecting anything for science made him uncomfortable and a little angry, but the creature was already dead, so why not. "How's your arm?"

Keith moved it a little. "Feels alright. How bad did it look?"

"It tore into muscle and clipped some of your bone, but it didn't rip anything out. If you hadn't stabbed it in the neck, it probably would have."

"But that didn't kill it. Why?"

Shiro shrugged. "There's a lot about that thing we don't know; that's why we're studying it. Dr. Holt says it had already started choking on its own blood before the spear went through its heart."

"Good." Whatever that thing was, it was a monster, and it was dangerous. If there were more out there, they needed to stay far away from them. "Are we headed back in?"

"Yes. We got a good sample for the labs, and we need to get you to a proper hospital.

"I feel fine."

"But we don't know if it could cause any kind of infection." Shiro was right, but at this point Keith didn't care. He just wanted to get home and curl up in his bed. Maybe wish this had never happened. He wasn't going to stay away from the sea, he just needed a break.

A long, long break.

* * *

Hey, so this is my first voltron/klance fanfic, and I hope it turns out okay. I wanted to add in autistic Keith and adhd Lance, but idk if I'll write them correctly. Please let me know if I do a decent job. I would love constructive criticism!

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2 Venomous

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters but I do own the story and the built-in world

Here's the next chapter! I already had it written because I started posting this on Ao3. I don't have anything after chapter 3 yet, so it'll be a little longer to update.

Chapter Two: Venomous

Keith's lips had become raw from chewing, and at some point he tasted the metallic flavor of blood; but he only noticed so long. He was stuck staring at his computer, twisting his wrist and leaning carefully on the arm with the cast. If it hurt, he didn't notice. He was too occupied with what was on his screen.

He had been home for a couple of days after the accident. He didn't go anywhere and barely left his room. It was his coping mechanism. He could only be out with people for so long before he needed a break to recharge. He was getting anxious within the last couple of hours, he would be seeking interaction soon. For now, he was distracted by his computer.

He hadn't heard Shiro appear at the door, but he sort of just knew he was there. He didn't look away from his computer when his brother walked over. "I see you've been occupying yourself."

"Did you know Hippos stay out of deep waters because they aren't good swimmers? They make porpoise-like leaps when they are. That's why their ears, eyes, and noses are on top of their head."

Shiro smiled, used to receiving detailed information from some random interest Keith had found interesting. He always came back to hippos. He could probably recite the whole wikipedia page from how often Keith talked about them.

His eyes ventured to the scattered, empty water bottles crowding the floor around the overflowing trash bin. He gave Keith a worried look. "How have you been? You've been drinking a lot of water lately. When's the last time you emptied out your trashcan?"

"This morning." Keith answered without looking up from his computer. He took a swig of water from his nearly empty bottle. He skipped to a new tab with more info about hippos. There were at least six tabs open. "I've been thirsty."

"I can see that." He shifted his gaze around to observe more of Keith. He was wearing his gloves. Normally he did because he didn't like certain textures, but he was never bothered by his keyboard. He usually didn't like wearing them while typing, because it was harder to type with them. He wore a long sleeve shirt and sweatpants, the same clothes as yesterday, and his hair was starting to get greasy. He didn't know what to do. If Keith wasn't going to talk about what was wrong, then there was no point in asking. He didn't think getting bitten had affected him, at least not mentally. He acted normal enough, besides the physical differences. "Maybe you should take a shower. Freshen up and we can grab something to eat in town."

"Eh."

Shiro sighed. "Just to get out of the house for a bit. Then you can come back and research more about hippos all you want." Keith didn't move for a couple of seconds, then he turned and headed for the door in silent compliance.

Keith scratched at his arms as he walked into the bathroom and took off his shirt. His skin was flaking, like he had gotten a sunburn and was trying to peel. He pulled his greasy hair out of his ponytail, shivering a little as it touched the back of his neck. He hopped in the shower and turned the water down as cold as he could stand it.

He knew something was wrong. Shiro had a right to worry. Ever since the accident, he constantly felt dehydrated and dizzy. His skin itched and flaked like it was drying out.

He didn't stay in the shower long. When he first got back he hopped in as soon as they got home, but he didn't last when he started feeling dizzy and out of breath. Strange rashes or red bumps started littering his skin, and they almost looked like scales. They had some sort of shine to them, and it freaked him out that he avoided touching water since. He was out of the shower in 5 minutes, speed washing so he wouldn't start to feel heavy again. The water irritated his skin and made him want to scratch it some more, but he settled for rubbing his towel as harshly over his skin as he could stand it. It still made everything red, only this was more of a rug burn.

Luckily, the little shiny bumps went away as soon as he dried himself. If they had stayed, he would have reluctantly gone to Shiro about it, but he wanted to handle this himself.

He slathered Aloe all over his skin and let it dry before throwing his clothes on. He wore the same long-sleeve, red and grey baseball shirt, but changed into jeans. With his hair clean, he left it down, less bothered by it touching his neck when it was clean.

Shiro lifted an eyebrow when he entered the living room. "Aren't you hot?"

"No." He was.

Shiro gave him a look like he heard the latter answer. He let it slide for now. "Well, where would you like to eat? Want to head into town or walk down to the Pier?"

He actually had to debate. He should pick town, because he would be riding in air condition. But being near the ocean sounded _so_ enticing, he answered before he could critically think about it. "The Pier."

Shiro smiled, thinking that was more of a Keith answer, because he liked going to the Pier often. His worry wasn't completely sated, but it was content for now.

Keith always wore his boots, but today he opted for sandals. Why did this worry Shiro? Because he didn't have sandals. Keith had borrowed his. Listening to them flop behind him because they were too big was a little distracting. "They just opened up a new steak house by the Pier. Do you want to try it?"

"I'm kinda feeling fish."

Shiro lifted and eyebrow. "Okay…Syrberg's then?"

"That's a shitty chain restaurant, don't we have something local?" Keith and Shiro had lived in Galveston, Texas, for at least ten years now, and never had he wanted seafood. Which was why he didn't know the local restaurants. How long was Shiro going to let his worry go?

"Well Matt and I like to go to Kuso's Seafood and Steak. He's more of the seafood kind."

"Do they have shark?"

"Have you ever _eaten_ shark?"

"I want to try it."

"Keith, seriously, I'm worried." He stopped Keith when he grabbed his arm, and noticed how damp it was with sweat. "If you're hot, why are you wearing a long sleeve shirt?" Shiro paused, like the answer came to him the moment he asked it, and pulled his sleeve up. His skin looked all scratched up. "Are those rashes?"

"It's just dry, that's all." He growled, pulling away like he had been burned.

"Keith, this has to be an infection or something. We need to take you to the doctor."

"I said I was fine." He didn't wait for Shiro to let it go or ask more questions, and instead stomped off in his loud, floppy sandals, ruining the moment. Shiro started after him, but Keith took off. He knew this would happen. He knew Shiro would want him to go to the hospital, maybe even the ER. He _hated_ hospitals. He had been in one too many as a kid, but that wasn't the reason he didn't like it. It was the smell. The smell bothered him.

When he had gone to the doctor to get a proper cast put on, he literally got Shiro to give him a nose plug. He couldn't stand the old bleach smell, it overstimulated his senses. If he didn't have to go to the hospital, then he wouldn't.

Even though all reason told him he really _should_ go.

Running was making him hot. He stopped to catch a breath, but he felt like he was suffocating. Why wouldn't the air flow properly?

A strong smell drifted to his nose, making him exhale to get it out. He looked over to see people swimming in a public pool. It was chlorine. The smell hadn't bothered him this much before.

However, a strange sensation came over him as he stared at the blue waters splashing every time someone swam or jumped in. He _never_ wanted to be around weird smells, but for some reason he NEEDED to get in the pool.

He ignored one of the lifeguards yelling about not paying when he climbed the fence and headed to the enticing water. People looked up when they heard the commotion, and watched as the fully clothes 19-year-old fell into the pool.

Relief. It's what he should have felt. Water surrounding him, hydrating him, cooling him from the hot summer heat. It shouldn't matter what kind of water it was, even shower water, for how uncomfortable it was, was better than nothing.

Instead, he got searing pain and a mouth full of screams.

—

"-mical burns."

"He's never been allergic to chlorine before."

"Well he is now." Keith didn't have to recognize the voice to recognize the sarcasm. It was like the bite all over again. He already knew who was in the room. "Hey, I think he's waking up."

His vision wasn't as blurry when he finally opened his eyes, and he was relieved to see Shiro above him. "Hey, how do you feel?"

"You should know the answer to that."

He heard Pidge chuckle. "He's fine, at least mentally."

"We're worried about that bite you got." Shiro said, speaking directly to Keith like he was purposely ignoring Pidge. Funny story, he didn't do it on purpose.

So many things were wrong, and Keith knew he couldn't avoid it anymore.

He sat up against Shiro's protests. "I feel fine." He snapped before anyone could say anything.

"You're still covered in rashes." Said Matt, standing at the other side of his bed.

Keith's casted arm looked normal, but that was because it was covered. His other arm looked like he had been eaten by fire ants. "What are those?"

"Chemical burns. From the Chlorine." Answered Matt.

Shiro's statement about never being allergic before rang through his head. "Are…are they going to keep me here?" He knew he should be in the hospital. So many things were wrong. The allergic reaction to chlorine, the dehydration, the dry skin, the dizziness when being in normal water, the weird shiny bumps that disappeared when he dried off. There weren't any on him now, he could tell because they looked different than the rashes. They were…prettier… He didn't know if they had been on him when they pulled him out of the water. If they had, they would have probably been overlooked from the rashes. He must have been red all over.

"We're not going to let them." Pidge said in a hushed voice.

"Pidge, we have to find out what's going on with him, and a hospital is the only way to do that." Said Shiro, folding his arms in the 'I'm the dad I'm the reasonable one so listen to me' gesture.

"I can analyze his blood better than anyone else."

"You're not a doctor."

"I don't have to be. I can just make a computer that can read it for me."

Shiro rolled his eyes, but Matt stepped in. "Look, Shiro, we know how this is gonna go down. They're going to take him in for studying, and we don't know when we're going to see him again. We had to lie about where he got the bite from in the first place, because they took that creature from us once we reached the mainland."

Keith remembered that. They had no idea how whoever they were(they were dressed in suits, so he could guess) found out about the mermaid-looking-thing. Everyone on the crew was forced to sign a waiver stating they would never say anything about their fine unless they wanted to go to prison for 'false accusations against the government'. Keith was always the conspiracy theorist, and this wasn't helping his obsessions. Shiro usually indulged him but never really believed(and knew it despite Shiro denying it) but there was no way he could overlook it this time.

Shiro sighed. "Okay, yes, I think there's something fishy-" Pidge and Matt snorted, Shiro gave them a "Look" and they shut up. "And I don't want anything happening to Keith, but we still don't know what kind of infection or virus he has and we really need professionals to look at it."

"Come on, Shiro, this is like the time the Garrison tried to hide when the Kerberos Mission was hijacked by the GHS and you got tortured for information." Said Matt. Shiro flinched, his hand going directly to his metallic arm.

"I looked for you guys for two years!" Said Pidge. "If I hadn't found Matt's radio signal, you'd still be on that stupid island!"

Shiro shut his mouth. The GHS (Galra Homeland Security) were apart of the government specialized in public security, when in reality they were a military division used to control the media. They had the public deceived thinking they were 'protecting the country' from outside forces. They thought the Kerberos mission was an attempt to contact other countries to conspire against them. They bought their silence when Pidge built a devise that located them from the crappily built radio box Matt made, sending a code only he could make up. If the Garrison had helped her instead of rejecting her attempts, they would have had evidence to expose them. Instead, Matt was enlisted as an 'Encryption Specialist', which was another word for Professional Hacker, and Pidge became a Computer Science Specialist without needing seniority or work experience. And, of course, Shiro was made Senior Commander of the Garrison.

That was a hellish two years. Keith had wanted to do something about it, but it would have made things worse.

They were the ones that must have picked up the mermaid. Keith was always hostile towards them, but Shiro held him back and made sure they didn't see his bandaged arm. It was rough.

It was also during the time Keith dropped out for 'disciplinary issues.' He had helped Pidge with his paranoid 'Crazy Wall' to find them.

Shiro finally conceded. "Alright, I'll get the doctor to sign the release form and we'll leave."

Keith turned to the two siblings. "Should I be worried about the GHS coming after me?"

"Nah, they just think you had chemical burns. If the doctor says something about the bite, they might get suspicious, but I can hack their system and rewrite whatever they have on you to throw them off." Keith sighed. It was always great to have geniuses on his side.

—

Shiro looked to Keith's room and saw the light was still on from the crack under the door. It was getting close to midnight, and while he really didn't need to be anywhere, he was ready for bed. He figured he'd say goodnight to Keith.

When he opened the door, however, he was met with a familiar messy wall covered in string. He sighed, he should have seen this coming. "What do you have here, Keith?"

Keith looked up from his computer, which had maybe twenty tabs open and was currently on one with a lot of text. He stood, suddenly filled with enthusiasm. "Shiro! I need to show you this." He walked over to the board and pointed to the center where a picture of a mermaid was. Shiro braced himself. "I've been looking up things about mermaid lore and I think maybe what's going on is I'm turning into one."

Shiro choked on air. "You _what_?"

"Hear me out!" He pointed to several marked places connected to the mermaid and listed as different cultures. "Mermaids are everywhere in folklore, and they were written about by cultures that hadn't discovered each other yet. There were myths in Africa, China, Japan, Greece, Ireland—just _everywhere._ "

Shiro folded his arms. "Yes…"

"It must be because they _were_ everywhere. And there are _so many_ myths about mermaids turning human and vice versa."

"Yes, but that's usually by magic or death." He paused. "You don't think you…"

"No, I don't think I died." He assured. He pointed to other places around the board, but they weren't pictures of mermaids, they were pictures of…werewolves and vampires? "What if it's like lycanthrope, and people _turn_ into them when bitten. It happens with vampires and werewolves."

"But those are myths."

"And mermaids are obviously not."

Shiro couldn't argue. "Are you saying there are werewolves and vampires now?"

"What? No, that's not what I—though that would be interesting—I was getting at that there are so many myths that there has to be some form of _truth_. Humans turning into mermaids? Mermaids able to walk on land? They have a human form, just like myths about werewolves, and it would make sense that maybe they're a type of _Lycan_ , like how there are werecats and wererats, sort of like that."

Shiro was finally beginning to understand. "So they would actually be werefish."

Keith shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"Okay, but you aren't turning into a fish when you get wet, and in fact you had an allergic reaction to water."

"An allergic reaction to _chlorine_." He jumped to another part of the wall, where information about fish were. "First of all, fish would die almost immediately when submerged in chlorinated water. Since I'm human, that probably translates to an allergic reaction. And look." He pulled his sleeve back where his cast should have been(how did Shiro not notice that?) and revealed a perfectly fine arm. The only indicator he had been bitten were the white, dotted teeth marks in his skin. "Just like when someone gets bitten by a werewolf."

"That's mostly pop culture."

"But it has to come from—"

"Yes, I know."

"Anyway, saltwater fish can't go in fresh water, and I think that's why I get over hydrated in the shower."

"You what? When did this happen? I thought you were _de_ hydrated."

"When I'm not in water." Keith was starting to get complicated. He was going so fast, Shiro decided to let him just info dump until he was done. "When I'm out of water, I get dehydrated and have to drink a lot of water. And, when I get wet, weird scaly things appear on my skin."

"Wait, I didn't…never mind, go on."

"Maybe if I submerged myself, I can see if I change."

"Into a mermaid." Keith nodded. He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. How could he disbelieve him? All of his evidence made sense, and if he hadn't seen a mermaid for himself he would be worried about Keith's mental health. But _turning_ into a mermaid? This was a little much. "Okay, this is a lot of information at once. Why don't we get some rest and talk about this in the morning."

"Maybe I could just go to the Pier and—"

"It's midnight, let's worry about that tomorrow."

"But night's the best—"

"Keith. Please." He put his hand on his little brother's shoulder. "You look tired. Get some rest."

Keith sighed and gave in. "Alright." Shiro pulled him into a hug, and he returned it, feeling safe. Shiro was right, he should get some sleep. He said his goodnights and crawled into bed.

But he couldn't sleep.

Almost half an hour went by and he started getting hot and dizzy. He felt like his mouth was dry, just all over his body. He reached for a bottle on his night stand, but there wasn't one there. He sighed, resigning himself to get up and grab a couple so he could semi-sleep through the night.

He only got half way to opening the fridge when he looked out the windows to the beach near the Pier. He was close, and no one would be around. Mostly. He could test his theory.

He left. When Keith made up his mind, he acted on impulse and headed straight down the street towards the docks.

The docks were filled with yachts and boats. There weren't any beaches in this side of town he could walk into the water to. He would have to walk through the docks to find a place to jump in. He didn't think passed that.

It was midnight, but it was hot. The ocean usually blew a cool breeze, but the night was still and heavy. There was little moisture in the air, and even if there was, it wasn't enough to keep him from sweating. He should have brought a water bottle or two.

It was beginning to look further away the closer he got. He started jogging, hoping to get there before he passed out. He didn't need to dry up in the middle of the street.

Finally it started getting closer, but he was getting out of breath. Why was he being affected in this stupid way? He never had a problem with endurance or stamina. He was active and even took some fencing and martial arts classes. Jogging to the Pier should have been an easy trip.

But his vision was blurring, and his heart was pumping faster in his chest. He was so dry, he didn't even sweat. He was beginning to fear he might shrivel up before he got there.

He pushed himself. He was almost there, just a little further. He forced his legs to run without loosing balance, but they were starting to wobble. He made it to the docks. Just a little further, near the end.

He collapsed. No, he was so close. He could barely make out the water, or even where he was. He felt dizzy, and confused. He had to strain his brain just to remember what he was doing there.

The smell of the ocean lifted to him, and he felt a little bit of determination come back. He _needed_ to be in the waters. He felt so heavy, it was hard to even lift himself up. All he could feel was the painful breathing from his chest. It was like he wasn't getting any air.

Water… He pulled himself forward, but only a little. He needed the ocean…

The air, the dryness, the heat…it was too much. He was so close…Just a little further…

He couldn't do it. His lungs were screaming and he was barely conscious enough to know where he was. He fell back to the docks, heaving and trying to get _anything_ into his lungs. His arm draped just over the edge, barely scraping the water.

It was cool. The touch of saltwater to the skin was more refreshing than fresh, cold water after working for seven hours on a hot summer day. It was like stepping into air-conditioning from running ten miles. Just a single touch, and he felt a chill of strength go up his spine.

He lifted his hand out of the water, seeing red sparkly scales and webbing between his fingers. He was right…

He _had_ to get into the water. His hand was the only thing that felt refreshed, and he pulled himself with what little strength he had till the weight of his body was enough to topple him into the water.

All he remembered was the splash of relief he felt when his face hit the water.

* * *

Well, I hope you guys liked it! I'm trying my hand at writing autistic Keith, and I hope it's believable. Let me know if it's not. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3 Chasm

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters but I own the plot and this world I built

A/N: Hello, another day, another chapter. Unfortunately, this is as far as I've written so far, so the chapters will be coming out slower than before :/ But I hope you like it!

Chapter Three: Chasm

"I thought I told you to hold it vertical. You're leaning it."

"Would you stop acting like my mother?"

"If you actually listened to me, I wouldn't have to." The deep sea diver rolled his eyes under his thick goggles, which his co-diver didn't see. Nor cared. "If you tilt it at an angle, it'll hit the wall and we won't be able to read how deep it is." He swam barely above the other, who was holding a pole that extended down into a black looking pool. A lake underwater. They were studying how deep it would go, the last recorded find being 62 feet, and never touching the bottom.

"God, if I knew you were going to complain this much, I would have switched with Carson." He tilted the pole slightly to make it more vertical, but didn't acknowledge he was complying to his co-diver.

The grouchy diver folded his arms, his webbed shoes keeping him from sinking to the bottom. "Why don't you just let me do it?"

The pool was called the Hot Tub of Despair, a well known phenomenon of what looked like a lake underwater. It was made of salty brine tinged with hydrogen sulfide, and methane, killing anything that came into contact with it. That was living. The pole wasn't harmed, and if they touched it, it wouldn't hurt them as long as they wore their gloves and diver suits.

"You'd complain either way, at least I'm doing something instead of just swimming there like a flounder." Growled the other. The bossy diver gave him a pointed look, but he was unaffected. Unlike when he snipped at him. "Hey, I think the sonar located the bottom."

"Where are we at?" The diver asked, immediately invested in their research instead of critiquing his co-diver.

"I made it to 72 feet, and it's registering at 102." He paused, shivering. "Did you hear that?"

"Outside of your annoying voice?"

"No, it sounded like something swam by."

"I'm beginning to question your basic education."

"Argh! I'm serious! It sounded like something huge!" He pointed his forehead light at his co-diver, who, with body language alone, didn't look impressed. "It could be a shark."

"Our sensors would have picked it up."

The diver ignored him and continued to look around, but nothing seemed to be swimming. The water was still, and any sign of fish was gone. It was eerily quiet.

"Wait, I saw something." The other diver started looking around, shining his light into the thick darkness of the open waters. They didn't have proper lighting to illuminate the area around them. Mainly because of budgeting.

The diver with the pole began reeling the sonar back up. "Let's get back to the surface."

"Okay, yeah, I gue-AAHHH!"

"What?!" The diver watched as his comrade turned on his jets and stated speeding for the surface. "What?" He didn't listen to his better judgment, and turned to see what had frightened his co-diver.

Light shined on sharp, multiple rows of teeth in a wide maw like a shark's. The diver screamed, barely giving himself enough time to register exactly what he saw, but the clawed hands and murky colored skin made it look like a drowned ghoul.

He dropped the pole, the sonar falling into the black pool, forgotten, and pressed the button on his jet back to shoot him to the surface.

A high trill of laughter escaped the Mer's lips, shaking him uncontrollably as he grasped onto his sides like he could somehow keep them from hurting. His laugh was melodic and alluring, bringing the fish closer for inspection. He wiped at his stinging eyes, like there was something there, and finally started to come down from the high as another Mer swam up.

The Mer looked worried from the affects of the laughing Mer's actions. His golden tail sparked brightly in the dark waters, hard to conceal from prying Land Walker eyes. He avoided them as much as he could, but he would still follow his friend into trouble. "Lance, I think that was a bad idea. You _know_ we're not supposed to interact with Land Walkers."

"Oh relax." The Mer said, finally able to contain himself. "They only saw me for a second and probably thought I was a shark or something."

"You're swimming a tight cave! We're too close to the Shoal and they could come back looking for us." The golden Mer swam in nervous circles. "What if they discovered us? What if they started hunting us? What if history repeats itself and we go to war? We're in the middle of a Gulf, we couldn't protect ourselves! We're trapped my land!"

"Hunk, calm the quiznak down." The Mer frowned at his friend, a look that couldn't mar his beautiful face. "It's not like we see a Land Walker every day. And maybe scaring them will keep them from coming back."

"If they're anything like you, then it won't."

The Mer rolled his glowing blue eyes and swam to the black pool. His friend almost started protesting in fast clicks when he grabbed the pole that had been lodged in the side when dropped. He pulled it free and flashed a pleased, toothy smile at the golden Mer. "I got you a souvenir out of it."

Hunk was torn between swimming in giddy delight and angrily trilling at him. He stuck to taking the pole grumpily. "This is the only reason I'm not telling on you."

"Yeah right, you're too loyal." Lance swam in graceful loops with the subtle current of the dark waters. His beautiful blue scales glistening in the waters at the glow of any light. His scales freckled his naturally tanned skin and danced around his shoulders and up to his blue glowing eyes, slitted like a cat's. They were captivating even to a Mer. Subtle transparent fins flowed around him, decorating the sides on his long tale to the fins at the end. His dorsal fin was as equally beautiful and ridged like sharp masts guiding his rhythmic dances through the water. Smaller fins extended from his wrists like silky lace, his blue scales painting his forearm to his hands and stretching to the webbing between his fingers. His ears were acute to the sounds of the ocean, sharply webbed and blue as the brightness of his tail. He was both frightening and breathtaking.

The two Mers heard an echo of a high frequency whistle calling through the water, and Hunk visibly sunk. "Crap, she sounds pissed."

"If we leave now, we might be able to make it home before she actually finds us." Said Lance, swiping his tail up to propel him in the direction of the sound. He paused, looking back at Hunk. "This never happened."

The Mers swam through the dark waters lit by only their glowing eyes, only so many feet above the sea floor within sight. Their noses led them through the waters like a magnetic pull. They came to a dark cave carved out of the side of a reef, and swam inside.

The darkness started to lift the further they went in, the walls littered with mussels and small glowing stones. The cave opened up into another pit in the floor, and inside were a twist of thin, crooked pillars leading to a chasm of caves and brightly glowing stones decorating the walls.

Mers gracefully danced in schools through the magnificent bowl of glistening scales and crystals. The cavern floor was filled with shops and melodic songs of pulsing rhythm, the Mers chirping and clicking to each other. The dome on the cavern echoed the sounds, bringing the illuminated city to life.

Lance smiled as he entered the great chasm, his heart filling with comfort and fullness being in a place he felt so apart of. As much as he liked to adventure out into the vast open waters, he was always happy to be home.

Unfortunately, right now Home involved a very grouchy looking Mer with similar coloring to himself, almost identical, with longer hair that floated around her threateningly. He grinned with a twitch in his eye, and prepared for the worst. "Hey Rosa…"

"Were you outside the Shoal again?" She started without hesitation. "Don't lie, I will hear it in your trill."

He gulped down his nerves, then bolstered his chest in feign confidence. "I was exploring like every good Mer when they come of age. I want to be with the hunting team, so getting to know our territory is a good training. Besides, you wouldn't want me to take the trial unprepared." He flashed his shark teeth in a grin, as if saying "check mate."

It didn't work. "Don't try that pathetic attempt at reverse logic on me. You aren't allowed out of the Shoal unless you're already _enlisted_ as a Hunter." He snorted out bubbles with a pout. Her expression turned soft and understanding, making him immediately feel guilty. "Lance, I know this is important to you, but you have to understand _why_ the Laws are in place." She sighed, looking to the golden Mer. "Could you please excuse us, Hunk?"

He didn't need to be asked twice. "Yes ma'am."

When he was gone, Rosa floated over and twirled her tail around his, pulling him into a warm embrace. "I may just be your big sister, but we love you, all of us; we just don't want you to make the same mistake as father."

He deflated in guilt. "I know…" He hugged his sister back, resting his face in her shoulder. She was broader, her tail longer, but she was comforting all the same. "I just don't like being cooped up in this cave." He pulled away, his bright blue eyes glowing with transparent emotion. "I've been stuck in here for seventeen migrations, and I've just aged out of Juvenile, I should get a chance to explore."

Her smile calmed him. "You will." She booped her nose on his. "Eastern Mers are migrating through, visiting for the Festival of Songs. Who knows, maybe you'll find Your Glow."

Lance could not contain his eyeroll, and covered it with a meant-to-be-charming look. "And deprive the ladies of this beauty?"

She snorted out bubbles. "When you meet Your Glow, you'll be too occupied for 'the ladies'." She didn't wait to hear a retort, and swam out into the open waters. "The Glow is the most wonderful thing a Mer can experience. It's a connection no one can break."

Lance felt a tightness in his chest. It wasn't that he didn't _want_ to find His Glow, he was just…a little scared. What if they…what if they rejected him? "That's _if_ they accept it."

Her frown turned sorrowful in thought, until she forced back her smile. "Anyone would be lucky to have you."

"Anyone would have been lucky to have Alara." The words hung between them with tension, ending their conversation.

He followed her as they swam down, entering into the city and following a large opening into a larger cavern. The gems illuminated the city brighter than any light a Land Walker could produce, glistening off the coral and algae decorating the walls and buildings.

The city wasn't built on the cavern floor, but in pillars that reached varying heights and melted crystal forming domes reaching from the walls. The city _was_ the cavern, filling the space in it's entirety. Mers swam and looped in all directions, swimming up to crystal domes crafted to create shops and buildings, all connected by structured rock. This was the Industrial and Arts district, away from the private homes of the Mer pods. In the center of the city stretched a towering, cylindrical rock connecting the floor to the ceiling of the cavern. It was built in beautiful designs and magnificent artwork of strong rock. Many Merfolk swam in and out of the structure, but the top was reserved for the most important of Mers: The Royal Family.

Lance had met the princess before, they used to play together when his mother worked on the council. When his father passed, she retreated to her home, and Lance hadn't seen her but from afar. She was the most beautiful Mer he had ever seen.

And, of course, he flirted with her. At first she was annoyed, but it steadily grew and she would giggle at him, saying "stop it Lonce", but still smiled. That had been over a migration ago.

Lance spotted the Eastern Mers his sister had talked about. They were beautiful, and many of them were female. He blushed in anticipation, a small part of him hoping to find His Glow, but otherwise just interested in flirting. They were beautiful, and they should know it.

They were Fully-Scaled Mers, their tails and bodies taking on multiple colors, but they had no exposed skin like his own. Their hair was made of fins, and their eyes were like obsidian orbs of captivating beauty. Their features differed in many ways, but all Mers believed they were all One Mer, celebrating in their divergence and cultures.

He smiled when a couple of Mers looked to him and giggled. They swam away but his confidence was already boosted. "Well, I'll be over there and you can find me later."

"Oh, no, what about your Trial?" His sister trilled, catching him by the tail.

He frowned, having forgotten about it. He struggled with his desire to be something and the cute smiles of those Mers. He conceded to his insecurities, wanting to be something more than just a normal Mer with no defining features or unique skills. He felt so…ordinary, despite his bravado. He hoped the more he acted confident, he would eventually _be_ confident. Fake it till you make it, right? "Are they having trials today?"

"When the crystals dull, yes." She said. "Or you'll have to wait another Moon Glow."

He pouted, looking off in the distance towards the Central Pillar. If he wanted to venture out, he would have to take a trial to become a hunter. He wasn't worried about failing, he had one of the best noses, it was just the first chance he would get since turning eighteen migrations. He wasn't going to wait any longer.

Filled with determination, he set his glowing eyes to his goal, and swam to the Hunting Bowl.

* * *

My conclusions are getting boring, I'm usually better at ending with cliff-hangers. But oh well, I hope you guys look forward to the next one :)


	4. Chapter 4 Trials

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters but I own the story

Chapter Four Trials

Hunting was something Lance knew he could do. He had gone with his dad on a couple of hunting trips when he was younger, and he knew how to hide. Rosa might have caught him venturing out this last time, but she didn't know about all the other times.

It was good to have a loyal friend who wouldn't snitch. No one could compare to Hunk.

But if these Ladies wanted to, he could give them a shot. "Hey, the name's Lance. Nice swimming into you." He gave her his best sexy grin, his sharp teeth glistening white. She was beautiful; one of the Mers migrating from the East. Not a single inch of skin was exposed beneath her sparkling yellow scales, and her eyes were a deep, solid magenta he could get lost in.

The Mer giggled bubbles and blew them in his face. He felt like he had been sprayed with the sweet bliss of love. "How nice to meet you, Lance, I'm Nyma." She swirled around him and let her yellow tail brush against his.

Whoa, she responded? This didn't usually happen, what was he supposed to do next?!

Lance's cheeks tinged pink and a stupid looking grin came over his face. "I, uh, yes, you are." The words jumbled out before he could stop them and he felt his cheeks get warmer. "I-I mean, nice to meet you too…" This wasn't supposed to happen, he was supposed to be suave, not a bubbling mess. He needed to get his confidence back. "So what brings you around here?"

"I'm here for the festival, of course."

Lance wanted to smack himself with his tail. Of course, she was, he knew that. Quick, recover. "I mean, over here, in this place…" He looked around. "Th-the Hunting Bowl. They're having a trial for the new Hunters. I'm trying out, of course." He flexed his arms and tail, but barely any muscle was showing. He was as skinny as a spear pole, and the only thing going for him was his tail being longer than most others his age.

She giggled, her purring voice dancing through the waves of the current. "Well, that's why I'm here too."

"Yes, well I'm-wait, what?" He paused. He thought only Mers from his Shoal, Altea, could take the trial. When did that happen? Or was this always the case? Was it something he forgot? He always had a hard time forgetting, his sister would get mad, but she tried to accommodate. They would snap their fingers to get his attention when he zoned out and thought of random things, like how sharks had the best sense of smell, or they had that weird compass thing that let them know what direction they were going, even in open waters. Mers didn't have that luck, which was why they stuck to the ocean floor or the reefs and canyons. Which were beautiful, and he wanted so much to explore instead of being cooped up in the shoal, and could only go out when his father went hunting or his mother would take him to help pick algae and coral for food. And coral was soon good, especially the purple ones that—

"Our Migration includes traveling to Shoals who have trials to be Warriors, Hunters, and Guardians. Since we travel the open sea, we need everyone to be able to protect the Pod." She swam a little closer. "You know, we could team up. I know it's whoever catches the best prey, but we could split the credit."

Crap, his brain went on a tangent again. Why'd he have too many problems focusing? She was pretty and interesting, this shouldn't be happening.

Lance's cheeks were probably stained red, and he would never be able to change it. "Uh, yeah! Sure!" He focused on her eyes, trying to will himself to hear every word her melodic chirping could make.

She smiled, and he melted into bubbles.

"I need all new cadets over here ASAP." The shrill from the Top Hunter's voice was like a squeal from an injured dolphin, enough to make someone's ears bleed. Also, grab his attention. Who wouldn't get distracted by that?

Everyone moved in closer so they could hear the instructions and expectations of the trial. Lance looked around to see if he could spot anyone he knew. Hunk wasn't there; he didn't know if he even wanted to be. There were a couple of Mers he knew of but didn't actually know. They were in his school when they were learning about the different species of coral and fish. He never got to know anyone besides Hunk, and Allura when he was younger and they played together. She was the best. She was so beautiful with her pink fins and pink eyes and pink tail and those little pink marks right under her eyes that all royal Mers had. Maybe they were all related? He dreamed of dating her, but he wasn't really ready to settle down. He wanted to be a Hunter, he wanted to explore the ocean and visit new cultures. He wanted to be a Migrating Mer, not get tied down by His Glow and start planning what season they were going to produce eggs. He wasn't ready for that. Not that he didn't want to find His Glow, only that he wasn't ready… He had too many things to do in his life before meeting her.

Or him, he didn't care.

There were a lot more Eastern Mers than he figured would be. He had only watched the hunting trials when his older siblings took them, and there weren't Migrated Mers in those. This must have been an occasional thing.

There were three Mers(did one of them have octopus legs?) who had…jellyfish on their heads? What kind of psychos…

"The trials are simple, you have 2 varga to catch a prey and bring it back. However, it can't be schools of fishes or anything smaller than a guppy's tail. The bigger the fish, the better."

That shouldn't be too hard, he thought. He was one of the fastest swimmers in his school and had the best nose. Being a Hunter was practically a family occupation. Though, sometimes he wanted to stand out… But that's what he was good at. That's what most Mers who were fast swimmers with great noses chose to be. Warriors were great with weapons, but he had never touched one. And he liked the bow and arrow and those little shooter slingshots. Not many Mers used them because the water would make it too slow with the friction, and one would have to be really close to get a good shot. They usually went for the best known and used weapon: the spear.

He had trained with a spear, his sister—

He pulled up a skin of seaweed patched together to make a large parchment with white writing on it.

"You will have a point system you will be graded by." Ahh, when did the Top Hunter pull that large seaweed parchment? He totally zoned. "Crustaceans and shellfish are worth 2 to 3 points, depending on the size. A cephalopod is worth 4 to 6 points."

So they were doing a point system? He remembered this from when his siblings went through the trials. Didn't they need to get a high number? They would have to take a net or something just to get enough fish and octopi to get anywhere near passing the trial. Crap, that's all he hunted when he was with his father. They didn't do anything big because he was too young and it was too dangerous. Sharks were on that list, though they were highly misunderstood. They were so fascinating though! They only swam in a straight line so it would be easy to dodge as long as you swim in vertical zig-zag. They couldn't even spin. It would be so easy to dodge and appear behind them. Lance knew he could take one. If he took on one of those, he would surely be awesome. Everyone would know his name.

"Then there are seals, which are worth fifty points." Wait, did he miss something? When did they go from 5 points to 50? "No other Air Breathers are allowed; they are too dangerous and we respect them so they will respect us."

Well obviously. Dolphins were cool, and whales had the most magnificent voices…

"The animal that will get you the most points are sharks." What?! But, but… "Depending on the size of the shark will dictate what points you get. It will be anywhere from 20 to 100, as long as it measures two tail fins or more."

But sharks were so awesooooomme. They used to have a leopard shark when he was little. They were so cute! And his mom would tell him about angel sharks and nurse sharks and whale sharks(the coolest shark) and—

"You will only need to get 50 points, so catching a large shark or seal will pass you. Any questions?"

"Are there any fish we need to stay away from? Besides mammals?" Asked a Mer in the back. Wow, he was really pretty. He had beautiful seafoam green scales and light skin on his upper body. He must have been in another school, he would have remembered him.

"Only the mammals." He paused. "And, under no circumstances, will anyone go near a Tiger Shark." He turned to a group of mature hunters and motioned to them with a nod. They brought out spears and bows with sharp strings to give a strong shot. Lance eyed a particular blue bow with wave designs carved into it. The string was really thin though, would it hold up?

Everyone else went for the spear, except those jellyfish weirdos, making him feel a little self-conscious about being grouped in with them. He decided avoiding them was the smartest option.

Nama went for a spear. A long one with a larger than normal sharp carved rock at the end. It looked heavy, but she wielded it easily.

Wow, she was so cool.

She swam back up to him. "You going to grab something?"

"Oh! Yeah!" He jutted to the weapons rack and grabbed the wave-carved one. He was back in a second.

"Wow! You're really fast. I'm glad we're partnering up." Ah, he could get used to that smile all day.

Screw His Glow, Nyma was perfect. Sometimes Mers didn't even meet Their Glow.

"Ready?" He snapped back to focus. They were already leaving. They followed the group of Hunters to a series of caverns. Even the younger guppies knew their way in and out. Everyone was taught it just in case they got lost outside. It protected from predators and potentially Land Walkers. Though, if they were getting that far advanced with their strange devices, they might need to rethink how to keep themselves secret.

The caves weren't the same small holes he swam through earlier to get home, they were larger so a group of them could swim through with their catches. They were windy and maze-like though. One led to a large abyss no one entered, and the other to their Shoal. Everywhere else was a dead end. It was one of the only places young Mers were allowed to explore unsupervised. Guards floated at the exit and the entrance to the abyss to keep guppies from straying out.

The labyrinth was surprisingly short as they got to the end where the guards were floating, the open sea outside letting a little bit of light through. They were good in the dark, it was one of their best traits for hunting. Mers were the most dangerous creatures in the depths because they could smell, see, and swim fast enough to catch any prey they wanted. Their only competition being sharks and dolphins. They revered whales as sacred, and wouldn't go near them.

The Top Hunter turned back to them to give his final speech. "From here, you will have your 2 varga to catch large enough prey to pass this trial. If you succeed, you will be apprenticed with a Seasoned Hunter to begin training. Those who fail…better luck next migration."

Lance frowned. A whole migration to try out again? That was too long of a wait. He needed to pass this.

"You may now start!" The Top Hunter swam to the side as the Mers shot out and scattered into the darkness of the open ocean. Nama quickly grabbed Lance's hand and swam off. He was smiling too goofily to notice.

"I think we're far enough out. Want to start looking?"

"Oh, yeah." He shook his head to get back into focus. He turned towards the open waters(because Nyma was a distraction) and sucked in water through his gills to relax. When he exhaled, he used his nose to smell the area around them.

There were a couple pods of schools to the north. They were small, so they wouldn't count towards the trial. Normally they would take a net to them, and his stomach started to growl with hunger. He could probably catch one for a snack. He twisted around, his eyes closed to concentrate, and took another deep inhale of water through his nose. Mostly corals and algae. They had a strong scent. Some fish used it to mask themselves. They could go over there, but it wouldn't be a guarantee. He turned again to the smell of something bigger. It was a shark. Should he tell Nyma about it? He twisted full circle, but couldn't smell anything else nearby. They only had 2 varga, so they were limited on time. He conceded. "There's a shark in that direction."

"Wow! That's so amazing!" She swam closer, placing a webbed hand on his arm. "You're so talented, I could get used to hanging around you."

Lance lit up like a coral reef. "Uh y-yeah, thankssss…" He went blank for words.

"Lead the way?" His body moved on its own, luckily led by his nose, as his mind went off to dreamland.

They found the shark scarring along the sea floor looking for food. It was a Nurse Shark. Awe, it was so cute. And harmless. Lance frowned. "I-I don't know, that's one of the most passive sharks, it won't be much of a hunt."

"That's the best kind. Haven't you had shark before? They're my favorite." Nyma's love of eating sharks almost snapped him out of his daydream. "If it makes you feel better, I brought a small net and we can release it later?"

Logic should have told him that's not what happens when hunting, but he was too enamored. "Okay."

Nyma pulled out a net hanging on a seaweed belt and opened it. It was just big enough for the shark. It might not get them the full 50 points, but it was a start. "You scare it this way and I'll catch it."

He nodded, enthusiastically swimming off around the coral to ambush the shark. It was a bit startled by the movement but went back to bottom feeding. When Lance got in the right position, he swam out.

He could have easily caught it on his own. He almost did, because he was so fast. But he held back so Nyma could throw her next on top of it.

"That's a good catch!" She said, holding the struggling shark in her net. "This'll get us quite a bit of points." She smiled up at him.

And he was mesmerized.

To the point that he didn't see her hand heading for his face until it hit his nose.

Then everything became a painful blur of white and he lost his equilibrium, feeling himself spin in every direction, and he didn't know if he actually was. He couldn't see anything, and his eyes stung with pain, and everything was white, and he couldn't make anything out. He tried shaking his head, but that only made it worse. He closed his eyes to try and fight back the squeal that was on his lips and the pain that was threatening to spill out of his eyes. he tried to cover his nose, but he couldn't feel his hands. Everything was starting to slow down and he didn't feel like he was spinning anymore. He tried shaking his head and squeezing his eyes tight, and finally started to feel better. He opened his eyes and saw a blurry Nyma smiling down at him. When everything focused, he realized his hands weren't actually on his nose.

They were tied to a rock. "Wha-who-what happened?"

"Sorry Lance, this isn't against you, but we needed the points. And you had the best nose."

"Wha-we?"

Nyma's scales began to glow slightly and turned brighter until a purple Mer swam up. He had a strange straightened nose and weirdly built upper body, but he was altogether pretty. He was glowing as well.

Wait. Glowing? Were they mates? But then… "You lied to me!"

"Like I said, nothing against you." She swam closer and kissed her finger, then booped him on his already sensitive nose. "But you are cute."

"Let's get going." Said her mate, smiling as gently as her. They were bad guys. Why were they smiling like good guys? "No offense, kid, just trying to survive."

"But…but…this is just a stupid trial!"

"We're migratory Mers. We have to learn to protect ourselves more than you. You have a shoal to keep you safe." Said Nyma, frowning. Lance didn't like her frown.

"Later." The Mer took Nyma's hand, their scales glowing brighter where they touched, and they swam off. He could see them for a couple seconds longer because of their glowing scales.

How could this happen? He thought she liked him… and now he was stuck, and if he didn't get out he would fail the trial and have to wait for another full migration! He tugged on the seaweed, but this was expert knotting. They were experienced.

"Psst."

Lance startled and looked up. he saw a weird looking jellyfish peeking out from a coral. Did it just…did that jellyfish just talk? How'd it make the sounds of Mers?

"Hey, you okay?"

"Uhhhh… Well, jellyfish, I would be if I wasn't tied to a rock."

"Lemme help." The jellyfish swam up and connected to a solid scaled Mer. Wait, the jellyfish was a face cover. It was one of those weird Mers he saw earlier. She(judging by her voice) swam up and untied him from the rock. She had green scales from what he could see, but she was draped in a cloak. "I figured she would trick you. Nyma's not the most trustworthy Mers."

"Yeah, noticed." He grumbled and rubbed his wrists. "Why'd you help me?"

"What, I can't be a decent Mer?"

"Uhhhh…" Crap, that was rude. "Yeah, sorry."

"But yeah, I need your help."

"Wait, I thought you did it out of the decency of your heart!"

"I can do both!"

He folded his arms and blew some bubbles out in frustration. "So what do you want?"

"You have a really good nose, and I noticed you could have easily caught that shark on your own."

Lance smirked. "Yeah, I'm pretty good aren't I?" He puffed out his chest for emphasis.

She didn't seem to notice or care. "We lost a friend and we're trying to find her. We've been following with the Eastern Mer's migrations, and we know she was here in the gulf when we last saw her." She pulled out a hairpin. "Maybe you could sniff this and find her."

"If she's been gone a while her scent won't be around."

"Please, we're worried something might have happened to her."

Through the thick smokey body of the jellyfish, he could see how pleading her eyes were. He sighed. "Fine…" But what about the Trial?

"It'll be a far travel, but we really need your help."

The sound of travel caught his interest. "How far?"

"Maybe the entire gulf if we have to."

He pondered. It would be risky, and he would get in so much trouble. But this Mer needed help finding her friend, and if he came back a hero…"Sure, I'll help." He gave her a toothy grin, and she trilled in delight.

"Thank you so much! I'm Plaxum, by the way."

"Lance." They patted tail fins in greeting. "So who's the Mer you lost?"

"Her name is Florona. And…" She paused, and he waited with bated breath. "She's QueenLuxia's daughter."

* * *

Hey guys! I know, I know, they haven't met yet; I am just as impatient as you. I was hoping they would meet sooner! But looks like I have some backstory to finish. I swear it's coming up! I was just laying the groundwork for the plot.

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed!


	5. Chapter 5 Risk

Disclaimer: (last one) I don't own any of the characters, but I own the story and world

A/N: I'm so glad you guys like it! Thank you so much for the comments!

Chapter 5: Risk

Shiro hadn't stopped looking at Keith with worry, but then again, it was probably an older brother thing. Keith was drinking water from a pouch through a straw, having gotten annoyed with water bottles for some reason. It was also easier to carry more in his bag, which he had been lugging everywhere for the past couple weeks. He got dehydrated so fast, sometimes the water wasn't enough.

His appetite changed. All seafood. He couldn't drink anything caffeinated or carbonated; it always had to be water. He even caught him drinking salt water one time. "I'm surprised you haven't tried dolphin, with all the experiments you've been doing."

Keith shrugged. He looked both distracted and zoned out. His eyes were set on the beach where they were headed to. "I don't know, it just doesn't sound appetizing."

"But shark does?"

"Shark is good." It was his favorite dish. He didn't know what it was about shark, but the taste was just so…good. He didn't know how to describe it.

"You can't eat just shark the rest of your life."

A challenge to his comment was on the tip of his tongue. "I eat other types of fish. I like crab and shrimp."

"Those…aren't fish…"

"And salmon and codfish and stingrays and catfish…" Keith continued naming off whatever aquatic animal he could think of, even if they weren't fish. And half of them he hadn't even tried, especially the freshwater ones.

Shiro chuckled. "I was just joking Keith, I didn't mean literally."

"Oh." How was he supposed to know? Shiro asked a question and Keith started answering it. Were questions jokes now? How was he supposed to tell the difference?

Shiro forgot Keith had a hard time telling when someone was jesting or not, and had to remind himself every so often. He was used to playful banter with Matt and Pidge after being gone so long from home. He needed to remember that. "Did you want to stop by Syberg's again?" He suggested, knowing he needed to derail Keith's thoughts before he got lost in them. "They have a gumbo special today."

"I'm not that hungry." His eyes were focused on the beach as they got closer. He could smell the saltwater calling to him. "I'm just going to go for a swim."

"Well, you need to be back before noon. Matt want's to head out to the edge of the shelf to study some more dolphins."

"Right, right." Matt had begged him to come along, and since he would get to see what he wanted to study with the dolphins, he conceded, his curiosity peaked. "I'll be back before noon." They finally got to the beach, but they didn't head directly for the water. There were a couple of caves nearby people would picnic in while swimming in the shallow waters. They were private and easy to get to from the outer side.

Luckily no one was out today, everyone being at either school or work. He got to the first one and climbed in without touching the water. Shiro followed close behind, holding a couple of towels and setting them further in the back of the cave so they wouldn't get wet. Keith set down his bag and walked up to the water, wading in up to his waist. "See you when you get back. Head straight home." Shiro called, catching Keith's shorts when he threw them to him.

Keith dunked all the way in, letting the water cool and wake him up. He poked his head out to say goodbye.

Red scales littered his face and traced down his collar to his shoulders. His ears were elongated and webbed, turning slightly red at the tips. Glowing purple eyes with slits looked back at Shiro, who didn't look surprised at his transformation. "Yeah, I know."

"And don't forget to stay underwater until you get back under the cover of the cave." Shiro lectured.

"Yeah, yeah." He submerged himself underwater and disappeared, already gone.

He stuck as close to the bottom as he could, trying to cover his obvious appearance from any prying eyes. His eyes could see further in the waters than above it, more than his human eyes ever could. Spotting someone from afar was relatively easy.

And his nose was better too. He thought of werewolves in fiction(were they fiction? Now that he knew all this?) and was surprised at how intense his senses were. He could smell metal and blood. With that knowledge, he guessed why mermaids were never seen. They had the perfect senses to avoid them from sight.

Except for the one they had caught. Was it on purpose? The captain and some of the crew were more excited at their find than surprised. The scientists—along with Keith and Shiro—had not expected this. Maybe that was why the captain was easily swayed to let them join their expedition. And it was smart that they didn't say anything if they actually knew what they were going to find. None of them would have stepped on that boat if they claimed to be looking for mermaids.

How they caught her was beyond them. They set nets down into the water—almost all around them—and waited till Samuel and Matt started dropping their sonar equipment and cameras in. They were in the deepest part of the Gulf, Sigsbee Deep. They finally had better equipment to travel as deep without creating light that would scare off aquatic life. It had some sort of cloaking device Pidge had developed, even with some type of gas that emitted to confuse fish into thinking it wasn't something foreign from the surface.

Maybe that's why they were able to catch the mermaid. The cameras spotted something Samuel and Matt couldn't identify, and it was because the mermaid couldn't smell the metal. It had changed its scent. Instead, it was curious and followed the cameras towards the nets directed from the captain.

They knew what they were doing.

Keith had to be careful. Luckily he knew more about technology, being human, that he could avoid it.

What if he ran into another mermaid? He nearly paused his swimming to think about it. That mermaid was terrifying. It was so strong, it nearly pulled the boat over as they dragged it up. But they had been prepared(Keith was now convinced they had planned this from the beginning) and secured heavy metal barrels, with loads of metal objects he hadn't gotten the chance to see, to one side of the ship to keep it from toppling over. When they pulled it up and onto the deck, all havoc broke loose.

The thing had torn through the nets with the strength of its powerful jaws and sharp teeth. Its claws had slashed through a couple of crew members, and its tail was whipping around and trashing the deck, even putting a couple of dents in the metal railings. If Shiro hadn't skewered that thing, he might have lost his arm.

Had the other crew members changed like him? The ones that got hurt? He was the only one bitten, so maybe that was why. Or they were hiding it like him.

When Keith showed Shiro, Matt, and Pidge what happened, they made him swear to secrecy and stay away from the GHS. Not like he wouldn't have, but they seemed pretty paranoid.

Keith stopped swimming when he came to the edge of the Texas/Louisiana shelf, right at the edge of East Breaks. The water turned to darkness the further down it went, opposite of what someone would see over a cliff. But with his glowing eyes and sharp sense of smell, he might be able to explore without worry. He was tempted. This was the first time he got this far out. He was beginning to swim faster. He peeked over the edge, seriously thinking about swimming down.

When the watch on his wrist started beeping. He looked at the high advanced watch and saw he had been out there for almost an hour. He didn't realize it had been that long. If he wanted to make it back in time, he would need to head back.

But the peak…

He would be back later. Besides, they were heading out further anyway, even if he wouldn't be allowed to dive deeper than this. He could go exploring tomorrow.

—

Keith was hauled up in the cabin curled up and hugging his legs as the boat sped fast towards the edge of the Texas/Louisiana shelf. He was pushed into a corner so he could be a little more stable as the boat jumped and rocked on the waved. They hadn't taken a fishing vessel like before, they didn't need much equipment to haul. Matt had a small laptop hooked to a sonar microphone and that was about it, Pidge was busy playing a downloaded version of Killbit Phantasm 1 on her computer, Shiro was driving the boat, and Keith was just…sitting there.

Pidge finally got tired of hearing Keith groan every time the boat jumped a wave and glared at him. "How does a mermaid get seasick?"

"Shut up Pidge." Keith forced out, sounding like he was out of breath from almost vomiting.

"Actually, it's quite possible for fish to get seasick." Said Matt, making his way into the cabin. "If they lose eye contact with water movement and vibrations, they get disoriented."

Pidge stared at him. "Nerd."

"Hey! So are you!"

She straightened her glasses. "I'm a geek. There's a difference."

"Would you two shut up…" Mumbled Keith, never bringing his face out of his crossed arms and legs.

"Why don't you just go outside? Maybe seeing the water will help."

"It makes it worse…"

"Well, we're almost there."

The boat began to slow and Keith was counting his blessings. Pidge and Matt went to the deck, but he waited till it came to a complete stop before he moved. The boat rocked a little, but it wasn't as bad as jumping waves, and he wobbled to the deck trying his best to hold in his lunch. He really shouldn't have eaten before getting on a boat. Mermaid or not, he had always gotten sick on boats. Unfortunately, that didn't change with his biology.

"So I have a couple of things to hook up to you before you go out." Pidge had grabbed what looked like a collar and an earpiece and walked over to put it on him.

He jolted away a little. he didn't like things touching his neck. It was why never wore jewelry. The only textures he could tolerate were clothes and gloves. The gloves more than clothes.

And he was already in a bad mood because he wouldn't be able to wear his gloves with webbed hands. What if he touched something with bad texture? It wouldn't help his aversion to overstimulation.

He would need to find another way to fix that. Cutting the inside of the fingers was a little pointless.

Pidge gave him an even look. "If we want to record anything you'll have to wear this." He growled in defeat, letting her put it on. "Now the earpiece."

"I don't know if it'll fit."

"What? Why wouldn't it?"

"My ears change."

"Uuughhh! Fine! Get in the water and then put it on."

Keith contended and headed to the back of the boat, holding the sides as best he could. It might not have been such a good idea because he shifted more than if he had been in the middle letting his legs seesaw with the boat. He pushed the little door—which was a little pointless because he could just hop over it—and climbed over to the water, careful not to touch it just yet. "Pidge, don't look."

"Eyes have been covered since you started moving."

Keith still felt a little self-conscious. He changed so fast that it was hard to get everything off in time. One time, he left his shorts on—

"Keith! Get in!"

"Uuughhh." He pulled his shorts and shirt off as quickly as possible, then slid in. After dunking himself he came right up hacking for breath. "Pidge! This thing is covering my gills!"

"Oh my gawd."

"Pidge, maybe you can adjust it for him." Suggested Shiro.

"We might be able to get recordings another way." Said Matt. "Maybe we can hook it up to the communications device instead."

"Fine, give me that." Pidge snatched it away after Keith enthusiastically took it off. "Give me a second." She grabbed her computer and the two communication devices and started typing away. Then she pulled apart the collar and took out some chip looking thing, and finagled it onto the earpiece. She wrapped it in electrical tape and connected it to her computer. "There, that should work." She handed it to him.

Keith was right, it was a little harder to fit in his ear than he thought. Pidge held up the electrical tape but he glared at her. "I'm not taping it to my ear." Matt and Shiro chuckled and he finally got it on. It was a little uncomfortable, but it fit. His earhole was almost lower than it was as a human. "If it falls off, it's not my fault."

"You'll be buying a new one."

"Make one that fits next time."

"I didn't know it wouldn't! A heads up would have been nice!"

"Okay you two, let's get on with the mission."

Matt chuckled. "Mission. I guess it kind of is."

Shiro shook his head. "Sometimes I think Pidge and Keith are related instead." Both parties pouted. "Okay, let's go over what we're doing again."

Keith sighed. "I'm going to swim with the dolphins and the whales to try and talk to them, so we can record their sounds to later translate to English."

Matt looked like he wanted to squeal. "Can you believe this? We could be the first ones to communicate with animals! It was totally worth it to get bitten."

"Then it should have been you."

"Are you ready Keith?" Asked Shiro.

He really wasn't. This would be the first time actually talking to them. They only came up with the idea because Keith was able to understand their songs when he was in the ocean. Matt figured if he could understand them, then he could talk to them. But Keith had never tried making those weird trills and chirps. He knew he couldn't talk normally underwater, but practically screaming so high pitched it could break glass? He would have to try it first.

Keith went underwater and started making all the weird sounds he could. Trilling, clicking, whistling, making some kind of weird sound that sounded like squeaking doors, sending a high pitched pulse through the currents of the water.

"What are you doing?" Asked Pidge over the earpiece.

"Trying to learn to talk in mermaid." He said, only it came out in muffled sounds. He broke the surface and repeated himself.

"What were you saying?" Asked Matt. Keith shrugged. "Maybe go find dolphins and listen to how they communicate. You should be able to figure it out from there."

Keith nodded and finally took off into the ocean.

Dolphins were surprisingly hard to find. Matt told him this was a good location where they would swim, and satellites that followed them said they were here. He tried sniffing the waters to see what he could find, but he didn't recognize any of the smells. So instead, he let out a shrill.

Something responded back. It didn't quite sound like a dolphin, from what he remembered, and it sounded like it asked 'who are you?' or 'what are you?' Anyway, it was confused by his call.

So he headed in that direction, hoping to find whatever it was.

He sent out another trill, hoping it sounded kind of intelligible. The response was still confusion, but he was able to follow it. It sounded a bit musical, maybe a whale. He didn't know any creatures that could sound like that.

But…He hadn't known mermaids existed either. And weren't they known for sounding beautiful and hypnotizing humans with their songs? What if it was another mermaid? Would they know he was human(partially)? What would they do if they knew? Would they be friendly? Or attack him?

His anxiety started to slow him down as the thoughts came to him. He could distinguish smells pretty easily, even if he didn't know what they were. He could even tell the different kinds of sharks or fish by the slightest change in scent. They would know. He knew it. There was no way they wouldn't.

Should he keep going? Maybe they wouldn't be as hostile. He wished he had brought his knife.

Something large came into view as it was winning closer. It was bigger than any mermaid, and he immediately recognized it. "A blue whale."

"Yes, that's what Land Walkers call me." He heard in response. He must have said it right since they understood him. "A red Mer, pretty rare."

"I was hoping I could ask a few questions." He started swimming beside it since it didn't stop.

"I don't know where the Mer shoal is if you were wondering."

Mer shoal? Were they called Mers? Made sense, he guessed. "No, just basic questions." He debated on telling the whale what he was. "I was actually helping some humans try to interpret whale and dolphin sounds so we could communicate."

"Humans? Land Walkers? Why would you go near them? Mers hate them."

"Uhh, they aren't so bad."

"Never trust a Land Walker."

Well, that answered his question. "What else do you know about Mers?"

"But, you're a Mer."

"I mean…" Think fast, what could he say to dissuade them to his true identity? "I'm a loner, I don't have a…shoal."

"So you're a migrating Mer? You don't look like one."

"I…was born alone, I never got to know Mers. Are you saying it's because I'm not covered in scales?" The one they found was. It had a pretty pink shine until they killed it…

"Yes. Two-colored Mers usually stay in shoals."

"…Two-colored?"

"It's what you are. The parts not covered in scales makes you look partially Land Walker. Why don't you know this?" He could hear the suspicion growing more defensive.

"I-I said I was born alone…"

"Abandoned?"

"Yes…I have a brother though. We just…never met any other Mers."

"You're not going deep enough. You shouldn't stay near the surface, that's how Land Walkers find you. The Mers have migrated to the deepest parts to avoid them."

"Are they scared or something?"

"Aren't you? A Mer out of water is basically dead."

"Wow you guys are talking so much, this is awesome!" He heard Pidge through his earpiece.

"Who was that? That sounded like a Land Walker. But how?"

"I-uh-I…"

"Who are you? Tell me. Or I'll eat you." Keith gulped. Could they eat mermaids-Mers? Uh, maybe he should swim away while he had the chance. "Are you associated with Land Walkers?"

"I…" He turned to swim away, but the current started to change and shift, spinning him right back over to the whale.

"You can't even swim properly."

"Fine, I'll tell you, but you have to promise to let me go."

"I'm the one with the advantage, you have no room to negotiate."

Keith shuddered. These Whales were as intelligent as humans. Were all animals like this? "I-I was born human. A mermaid bit me and I turned into this."

The whale was silent for a minute, and he could feel its eyes boring into him. "I thought that was just legends."

"…What?"

"It's been almost four hundred years since Mers and Land Walkers interacted. There were stories about humans turning into Mers while drowning."

"Are you mad at me?"

"You're the one that's misfortunate. Land Walkers don't take mercy on their own, let alone a half-breed."

The words stung. It was a derogatory word some kids used to call mixed heritage. He already had that problem being half Korean. "What do I do?"

"I don't know."

"Should I talk to Mers?"

"That's up to you. However, under no circumstances should you tell them what you are. The consequences could be fatal."

Keith agreed. He hadn't planned on telling them anyway. He even planned on avoiding them. As long as he didn't go all the way to the bottom of the Gulf, he should be safe.

He needed to keep his impulses in check. "Am I free to go?"

He could hear a jumble of grunts that sounded like chuckling. "You have a lot to learn about the ocean. For one, Blues can't eat Mers."

Keith glared at the Whale(or Blue, was it?). "Then can you point me in the direction of dolphins? We were wanting to speak to them too."

"Dolphins don't interact much with Mers. They don't go as deep where the Mers live, and since Mers are the top predator, they don't want to be prey."

Well, that was promising. "Thank you for your help."

The whale chimed back to him, in a simple melodic note that didn't have a perfect translation, but he knew what it meant. He replicated the sound, then left.

—

"Was that a whale? That didn't sound like a dolphin." Said, Matt, as Keith climbed up on the back and sat with his tail still in the water. Pidge was down below just in case.

"Yeah." He splashed some water on himself to keep him wet.

"That was amazing! Could you understand them?"

"Yeah."

"Well, what did they say?"

"I don't know, Mers are like apex predators, he squeezed more information out of me than I did it." he paused. "Oh, and dolphins don't go near Mers." Matt pouted.

"Mers?"

Keith looked up at Shiro, splashing himself again. "That's what they call them. And whales call themselves Blues. Well, I'm sure just the blue ones do."

Matt gave a pondering look. "Interesting."

Shiro chuckled. "Well, it wasn't a complete waste. We learned how to communicate with whales."

"Are you decent!"

"I haven't gotten back in the boat." He didn't make any effort to move. "But I want to stay here for a sec."

Shiro gave him a look. "Yes, Pidge, you can come out."

Pidge scrambled up to the deck with a goofy smile on her face. "The recording worked! You can translate it as we play it over. This is so awesome!"

"So we're headed back then?" Keith asked, not ready to go yet.

"Yeah, we should study what we have right now." Matt started packing up his equipment. "We'll come back another day for dolphins."

"Take me to the edge of the shelf. I think I'll do a little more exploring."

The three non-Mers looked at each other, then shrugged. "Want to keep the earpiece in?" Asked Pidge.

He thought about it. Would it be useful? He wasn't planning on talking to anything else. But what if he could talk to other creatures like sharks or fish? They would have more to study.

But what if he ran into a Mer? Should he think about avoiding them like the whale said? He wasn't fond of finding one anyway, but he could always watch them from afar. "Yeah."

* * *

Not much to say except I hope you guys liked it!


	6. Chapter 6 Chase

A/N: I'm so sorry this is late! I was swamped with work(being self employed sucks, some days you have nothing to do and others there aren't enough hours in the day) and then I was nervous about writing the meeting because I was afraid I wouldn't meet anyone's expectations and more anxiety yada yada, writers block, blah blah blah, then finally I forced it out. Hopefully this won't be a regular thing and I wait so long to post the next chapter(fingers crossed!)

I'm also failing at keeping with my word count on Nano...

Anyway, here it is! Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 6: Chase

"What was that horrible screeching?" Complained Lance, holding his ears to keep potential blood from running out. "That sounded like a dying whale!"

"I don't know, but we can't worry about it, we need to go." Said the Jellyfish head, Plaxum, trying to hurry him along through the dense coral and rocks. The flat ocean floor had transitioned into a landscape of rock mazes and coral trees. Plaxum seemed to know where she was going, but he was still doubting his decision to follow her.

"It sounded like two dolphins having sex."

"Lance…"

"Or maybe a Mer with a broken vocal cord."

"Lance…"

"Or maybe they just couldn't sing. Yeah, I'm going with that."

"Lance!"

Lance smirked at her. He didn't know what kind of look she was giving him, but knowing he had aggravated her was entertaining enough. "Where exactly are we going?"

"We're meeting with two of my friends. They're going to help us find her."

"Yeah…" He should have trusted his instinct. A missing princess? A weird foreign Mer who liked wearing a jellyfish on her head? Was there something wrong with her face?

And then there was the fact he left in the middle of the trial. What was he thinking? Maybe he still had enough time to go back.

Then he remembered Nyma and that Mate of hers. He felt so…betrayed wasn't the word, but it fit the situation. She totally played him because he had a weakness for pretty faces. It was going to be his downfall someday, and it looked like it almost happened. She had tied a pretty good knot, not that he wouldn't eventually get out of it, but he would have missed the trial. Or, even worse, fallen prey to a shark. If Plaxum hadn't shown up, he didn't know how long he would have been stuck there.

But why him? He might have a really good nose, but his wasn't the best. Maybe it was because he was in the right place at the right time. He boasted about some of his skills, like archery or speed or sense of smell, but it was mostly to try to convince himself he was better than average. He grew up with five siblings, and even if he was the Guppy, he still had a hard time getting noticed. His dad always took him hunting with him, but he wasn't there anymore…

He smacked his cheeks to try to knock those thoughts out of his head. He needed to keep his mind from wandering away from his original point. "So why'd you want my help?" He started, following her further into the coral forest. She had been directly in front of him, almost like she didn't know he was behind her. It made him feel like less than an equal since she didn't even bother to know if he was following. She had a nice tail though…

She actually stopped to turn to him, almost making him run into her. Her hesitation was enough for him to know she was going to try to make this as painless as possible. "I saw that Nyma wanted to pair with you, even though this wasn't really a team trial. I know her pretty well so I knew what she was up to. I figured if I helped you, you could help me."

Lance felt used. That was conniving of her. Why didn't she just say that? Knowing you were in debt to someone wasn't as bad as being manipulated. "If you had said that I would have followed anyway."

"You followed without much persuasion. You wanted to leave."

What? No, he didn't! He had been working so hard to take this trial. He had done hunts with Hunk, practiced tracking, and built up his speed every day. Why would she think he would just leave the one chance he had to freedom for some stupid princess?

Why did he? He didn't know. Lance felt like his thoughts were traveling too fast to keep up. He didn't like the feeling of helplessness that came with self-ignorance.

Time to bury those feelings and think about them never. "Whatever, I just like helping damsels in distress." He smirked and winked.

He didn't need to see her face to know she rolled her eyes. "Let's go, my friends are waiting."

He briefly wondered what friends she meant, but then remembered seeing them at the Shoal. They were the other jellyfish heads. He was doubting his decision again.

He let his mind wander again. It always happened in the middle of a boring journey. Whenever he followed his dad, whenever he was following his siblings, and even when he was following Hunk. Hell, even when he was leading. He couldn't help it. He didn't know why his brain was like this and it frustrated him a lot. He would get into trouble for forgetting something small, or not pay attention to someone talking, or got super hyper and started disrupting class.

Like when he got distracted by that horrible screeching, and jellyfish head had to snap him back to attention. What was that shriek anyway?

His derailed thoughts came to a halt when he ran into Plaxum. "Watch where you're swimming." She said, pushing him away. "These are my friends Swirn and Blumfump." He couldn't stop staring at the octopus legs. There were…there were Mers like that?

"It's good to meet you." Said the octopus Mer, holding out one of his tentacles. Lance forced a grin and quickly touched tails before pulling back. "Here, now put this on." He was suddenly holding a jellyfish, trying to shove it on his head.

Lance quickly dodged. "Um, I'm good, I don't want to be stung."

"It only hurts for a couple of minutes. And the swelling will go down." Said the other normal looking Mer(besides the jellyfish on her head). Swirn, was it?

"Why are you wearing them anyway?"

"We must hide our identities." Said Plaxum. "If the Queen or any of the Guards from our Pod see us, they'll immediately detain us to your Shoal."

"Uh…But they don't know me, so they wouldn't care."

"True…"

"So you can put the jellyfish away, thanks." He batted Blumfump away who was still trying to force the jellyfish on his head. "What exactly are we doing?"

"We need you to smell this." Blumfump let the jellyfish swim away and immediately shoved a sash in his face. "You can track her, right?"

"What do I look like, a shark?" He shoved it away.

"I thought that's what you were."

What? Why would they think that? They look nothing like sharks. Yes, they have the sharpest and most rows of teeth, and their sense of smell was better, and hitting them on the nose disoriented them…But they weren't sharks. "The smell is probably faded. I wouldn't be able to find her if I tried."

"Please, we really need your help…" Plaxum sounded desperate. This princess was more important to her than just royalty.

He sighed. Well, I'll try." He couldn't guarantee anything, but he still took the sash and sniffed it. There was a faint scent, not enough to make out what it was, but he had an idea. He looked around to try and see if he could get anything, but he couldn't. It was too faint and it was probably gone. "I can't find it."

"We need to travel north." Said Plaxum. "That's where she last went when our Pod was migrating to your Shoal."

"Okay…" North? He had never gone that far. Hell, he had never even been this far.

The sudden urge to explore on an adventure took hold and smothered any common sense he had. "Okay." This was probably a bad idea.

But who cared, he was going on an adventure, something he only dreamed about.

—

The wall was intimidating. Heading straight up. It was a sudden steep landscape of more forest and caverns. It was both exciting and terrifying. He had the strongest urge to explore every hidden, dark corner and discover every algae and plankton he could. The terrifying part was how far up it stretched.

Lance had never seen anything like it. It looked like a rough terrain of jutted rocks and reefs of coral that didn't know which way was up. It went on forever; so far he couldn't see where it went. He didn't know things went so high, he had never been that far up.

He knew about Land Walkers and that they didn't live in the ocean and existed on some plane called Land, but he had never seen it. There were stories passed down through his ancestry of the dangers going above the "surface", whatever that was. It was like a wall between water and this "air" they spoke of. You could see through it, but you couldn't actually touch it. The stories never made sense. You would feel both light and heavy? What did that mean? Mers could breathe it, but it was harder and they couldn't use their gills. They would have to use their nose and mouth. That would make smelling difficult and overwhelming. He only liked using his nose ever so often, sometimes he was overcome so much he would get dizzy. "Breathing air" didn't sound pleasant.

But there was always that curiosity. It was why he would watch for Land Walkers and study them, and after a while, mess with them. They looked so weird too. Their two-tails only bent in the middle, and their webbed fins at the ends were very small, he couldn't understand how they were able to swim. They probably couldn't swim very fast. And they had black leathery bodies, sometimes with strange colored stripes. And those things on their heads? He never got close enough to see through the glass at their faces, but he was told they needed those things on their backs to breathe underwater. He was told they had the faces of Mers, and resembled the Two-colored like himself. Only they were still one colored without scales? Hard to picture. They probably looked ugly underneath that mask, which was why they covered it. And some of them grew hair on their faces! So gross.

The possibility of traveling further up and experiencing this "air" and touching this "surface" was intimidating, but it called to him. He wanted to touch it. Wanted to see it. He dreamed of exploring as far up as he could, but there was always a watchful eye on the younger Mers. This trial alone was the first time he was ever without someone watching them. Except for these weirdos.

He heard migratory Mers could travel anywhere, including the surface. It was highly frowned upon, but at least they had the option. Sometimes Lance wished he was one of them.

He paused, sniffing the waters. He knew was it was, but not anything recognizable. "Hey, wait." The three Mers he had been following stopped and looked back at him. He still cringed every time they faced him with those jellyfish heads. "I think I smell a Mer."

"You can distinguish that?" Asked Swirn.

"We need to avoid them. We can't get caught." Said Plaxum, her tail swishing nervously.

"What if it's one of the guards? Queen Luxia could be sending them after us!" No matter what came out of Blumfump's mouth, Lance couldn't bring himself to believe him. Why would the Queen care about these weirdos?

"We must swim on." Said Plaxum. "Can you tell where they are?"

"Well, I could track them." The Mer was pretty far, but the weird part was it was in the direction they were heading, not from where they were coming. Mers didn't travel out here, they avoided the wall. "But they're in the direction we're going."

"That's not good. Maybe they're a Wanderer." Plaxum started swimming in circles and mumbling to herself. "We've come so far, we can't get caught now. What if they're part of a thieving pod? We're not equipped to fight anyone. We need to avoid them…" She stopped spinning and faced Lance. "Would you be able to distract them?"

"What? Like bait? I thought you needed me for tracking your friend."

"Just till we get passed them. You can follow our scent too, right?"

"So I'm supposed to track this Mer and distract them while tracking your guy's scent while you sneak by?" They nodded like it was a reasonable request. He sighed. "Okay, whatever. I'll keep them distracted but I ain't putting myself in danger for you guys."

"Just till we pass, then you can catch up."

Lance wanted to blow bubbles in their faces. Why was he going along with this? They were expecting a lot. What if this Mer was a Guard from the Shoal? Or a thief person they talked about? He was supposed to distract them, then get away? He was a little flattered they had faith in him, but he knew it was just because he was expendable. They could have gotten any Mer to help, he was just convenient. "Fine." He grunted, then swam up towards this Mer that had their tails in a tangle.

It was a sweet smell, layered with a couple different kinds of seafood. Shark, shrimp, swordfish. Quite a variety, where'd this Mer hunt? They couldn't be with a Shoal like those jellyfish heads said. There were also unrecognizable smells, ones he definitely couldn't place. It was an interesting combination.

And weirdly enticing.

Lance shook his head. Now wasn't the time to be chasing some tail, he had a job to do. Luckily the smell was kind of strong, which meant they were close, so it wouldn't be hard to find them.

He couldn't see anything though. The coral was too thick, and rocks were making the terrain uneven. There were a couple of small valleys, caves, and tall sharp rocks anyone could hide behind. That's probably why he couldn't see them. They must be hiding, and they must know he was there. If this was going to be a case of shark and fish, he might be able to chase them away from the group. Well, if it was one thing he was good at(and what he had been practicing for), it was hunting.

His glowing eyes scanned around the shadowed reef and sharp rocks, searching for any movement that would catch his attention. The water was still and anything not attached to coral or algae had swum away. They knew there were predators around, long before he swam up.

He let his nose do the searching. He slowed to a float, letting the near still waters carry him through the weaves of every corner and curve. The Mer was close, he could smell it.

A swish of red caught the corner of his glowing blue eye, disappearing behind a tree of coral. He kept his lazy pace like he hadn't seen anything, and let the current drag him through a wall of rock to disappear. He dove deep into the small cove, peeking out through a hole to see if he could spot the red tail again. Red was an interesting color, pretty rare. This Mer must have been from another Shoal, or probably migrated from the Far East. The water flowed till it was new, a couple of doboshes ticking by. He kept as still as he could, unblinking, till he saw the tail of red again.

It was hard to see, but the Mer looked like him. In a way that it was only scaled on half his body. His red tail was as bright as the red cracks shining through charcoal magma at the bottom of the Deep. His unscaled skin was lighter than the Mers in his Shoal, not quite a color he had seen before. And black hair? Strange combination.

But also beautiful.

He didn't have as many fins as him. There were fewer scales even; his hands weren't completely covered, and he didn't have dorsal or arm fins. His ears were pointed but not webbed. He almost didn't look…complete.

When the Mer turned his head in search of company, his eyes glowed a brilliant violet. Purple was the rarest of colors. They were captivating even from afar.

He couldn't help but follow.

Lance kept to the shadows and rocks, keeping himself from out of sight as he followed the strange Mer. He was heading farther up the endless wall, backing out into the open ocean to avoid the obstructing plant life. He was heading in a singular direction, against the current. Did he not know how to swim? He was just making it harder for himself.

Lance wondered what his next move should be. Should he confront the Mer? Avoid him? Forget about him and leave? Lance was in a state of apathy at this point.

A second his mind was wandering into the depths of his lack of concentration, and the next he spotted the Mer swimming away. Crap, he must have seen him. "Wait!"

The Mer was fast and had a head start. But this Mer didn't know how to use the currents for speed, unlike Lance. He couldn't contain the smirk stretching across his lips as he sped up.

The red Mer looked back to see him gaining, and took a dive into the rocks. Lance almost had trouble stopping himself, but he used the swing of the current and propelled himself into the rocks and right in the path of the red Mer. "Ha! Gotcha!"

Smack!

"Ah! God, my head!" Lance could feel his forehead throbbing beneath his hands as he held his eyes tight to keep the stinging down. How fast had this guy been swimming? Faster than he thought apparently.

"Why don't you watch where you're going!" The other Mer's voice sounded as strained as his, only with a little more lace of frustration. It was a little hoarse for a Mer.

"Well if you knew how to swim I wouldn't have to!"

"I know how to swim!"

"Apparently you don't!" Lance's eyes connected with the brilliant glowing violet, and he was struck with awe and recognition like he had seen those eyes before. A sense of calm flowed into him, like the harsh currents from a storm slowing to a dull wave. It was strange, one minute he was furious this Mer hit him, and the next he couldn't stop staring into those eyes. He wanted to say something, like his name or ask where he was from. He wanted to know who this strange Mer was and why he was so captivated by the beauty of those eyes.

But his lips stilled and his heart started thumping as the soft glow of red sprinkled the other's face and his own blue scales started to shine.

* * *

Finally! So glad this part is over, it was a pain to write. I like stretched out writing the last couple paragraphs over 3 days, it was so painful... And I hope you guys aren't too mad at the cliffhanger XD Now, onto writing the next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7 Glow

A/N: Helloooo finally out with the actual introduction and their first interaction. I had to rewrite Lance's pov because he sounded sooo out of character and I hated it. I like this version more, it was more fun to write and it flowed out much better. Hope you guys like it!

Chapter 7 Glow

Keith had to take a moment to calm his stomach when they finally stopped right over the edge of the Texas Shelf. Shiro was looking at him with concern and doubt, having already tried to talk him out of deep sea diving. Of course, knowing how stubborn Keith was, didn't work.

It also didn't help that Pidge and Matt were encouraging him. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Maybe you should take a break from swimming and get some down time."

"As much as I love surfing the internet because I have absolutely nothing to do, I prefer this." Keith looked up at him, his eyes set in determination he had been lacking for the past couple months. "I feel like I'm actually accomplishing something. I have a job, sort of." He looked back at Matt and Pidge, who gave him a grin and thumbs up. "I'm helping out in a way no one else can. For as long as humans have been studying the Gulf, I can discover more than they have in the last decade."

Shiro knew arguing was pointless, because honestly, Keith had a point. Ever since dropping out of the Garrison he had felt lost and worthless; this made him feel important, and that was a big deal to both him and Shiro. "I understand, I was just suggesting taking a break."

"I feel fine." He looked a little less queasy, but not by much.

"What if something goes wrong? We won't be out here to help you." Shiro might not be able to talk him out of exploring the deep, but he wanted to talk him out of doing it _today_.

"What if you run into another mermaid?" Keith looked at Pidge, giving her a "you're not helping" glare. She just smirked, unaffected. "Sorry."

"If anything goes wrong he has our communicator in his ear." Said Matt, _actually_ trying to help. He was too excited to get more information than worrying about Keith's safety at the moment, much to Shiro's frustration.

"That doesn't mean we'll be able to get to him in time."

"If you're so worried, I'll set a timer." Said Keith, pushing a couple buttons on his watch. "Five hours. If I don't return by then, then you can come looking for me."

Shiro sighed, why did he keep trying? Even if he didn't come back, how would they be able to do anything about him deep in the ocean? He really didn't like this. "Okay, but make sure the locator is on, that way we know where to look."

"Yes Dad." Keith mumbled, setting his watch up.

"And check in every 30 minutes."

"What? I would have to come up to the surface every time just to talk. Every hour."

"45 minutes."

" _Shiro_."

"Fine." He needed to learn how to stop giving in. "We'll see you in five hours." His look let him know not to be late by one minute or he would be angry.

"Okay, I'll be back." He slipped into the water, pulling his shorts off and throwing them on deck.

"What do you think would happen if he left his shorts on when he changed?" Asked Pidge.

Keith ignored her and dove under, not really thinking about the answer. He was too enthusiastic to go exploring deeper into the dark depths. The East Breaks loomed over like a cliff leading to a pit of darkness, filling him with excitement. He didn't wait to see the boat sail away and dove down into the Sigsbee Deep.

Keith tried to recall everything he had studied the night before when he went on a research binge about the Gulf. He was just above the Alaminos Canyon leading to the Sigsbee Encampment. There were a lot of staggered cliffs, almost like a rough terrain slide, that led farther down. There had to be a couple of miles worth of gradual incline. He was able to swim pretty fast, probably enough to keep up with a speed boat, but he wanted to save as much energy as possible, just in case something happened.

Like a shark for example.

They were tasty though; he wondered if he could actually hunt them.

 _Were_ mermaids the apex predator? He shivered at the memory of those sharp teeth and how easily they tore into flesh and rope. It had almost pulled the boat over, even though it was a fishing vessel. What would he do if he encountered one? Would they know he was human?

The darker it got the more his eyes adjusted and glowed, making it easier to see. It was like swimming in perpetual twilight, which was both annoying and helpful. He wondered if this was what animals saw that had night vision.

The cliffs turned into beautiful reefs of coral and algae, coloring the canyon with bright reds and pinks. It almost made everything brighter. There were coves and ditches that could be perfect hiding spots and plants that looked like trees. The ocean really was a wonder. He wish he had a camera, he would have to get one next time from Pidge. But would it work in this dark lighting without having to use a flashlight or night vision goggles? He wished he could recreate what he was seeing. Maybe he could mess around on photoshop to get a better quality.

He stopped when he heard faint whistles and trills in the distance. It almost sounded melodic. Much sweeter and pleasant than a dolphin, and quieter than a whale. He listened harder to see if it was language and not just sounds.

It was language. He couldn't make out everything, just a couple of words like "distinguish" and "avoid". _Could_ they be dolphins? He hadn't actually encountered any since he went through "the change".

Or were they mermaids?

Keith's heart started pounding as he quickly ducked behind a tree-like plant. He didn't want to know what would happen if he encountered one. Would he be able to fend them off? Were they as scary as the one on the boat? There was no way they _wouldn't_ be able to tell he was part human. He had a human-half without scales after all. The one they found was covered in scales, and had fins for hair, and their eyes were solid black, like an alien caricature.

One thing he remembered was her scales had a pink hue to them, but when she died, they turned dull and lost their shine. It was sad, if she hadn't nearly ripped his arm off. The blank, lifeless eyes were the worst part.

Keith shook himself out of his chilling memories when he smelled something distinctive. It was like the air when the saltwater of the ocean wafted over the beach(which should have made sense, but the "air" part was weird). There were a couple of sweeter smells, something he recognized the more he explored the coral reefs. They smelled like the purple and blue ones, he didn't know the names. They were rare, though. It was hard to explain, like a combination of several flowers and the grass after the rain. The mixture sounded overwhelming, but it was subtle enough to be pleasant.

He saw the glowing eyes first. They weren't close enough to spot him, since he was looking through "tree" limbs(they looked like redish-purple veins sprouting from a bush of coral) for cover. He knew his eyes glowed as bright as the other's and made an effort to continually block them just in case the glow caught their attention.

The glowing blue disappeared behind the rocks, but he wasn't going to swim out any time soon. He took a deep breath of water through his gills and counted the minutes.

When he got to ten and nothing happened, he decided it was probably safe to come out. It would be best to get out of there.

He headed up, taking a chance and swimming away from the shelf of coral forest so he could spot anything if it came up. He still wasn't used to swimming against the water. Then again, he wasn't much of a swimmer before all... _this_..

Keith kept an eye out around him, just in case he saw the glowing blue of the mermaid's eyes. He swam at a normal than leisure pace, occasionally glancing to the sides and behind.

He paused, seeing the blue eyes behind him, and took off.

The mermaid must have noticed, because he heard them yell at him. He wasn't about to deal with one now, he was barely able to get down swimming right. And after that whale? If _they_ were hostile, then a mermaid would _definitely_ be.

He looked back, seeing the mermaid gaining on him, and he took a dive for the rocks. He was good at maneuvering a bike and wave runner, he might be good at his.

But as soon as he thought he was hidden, his head smacked into something solid and loud. Anger replaced any nervousness he previously had. "Why don't you watch where you're going?!"

"Well if you knew how to swim, I wouldn't have to!"

That pretentious little… "I know how to swim!" He yelled, his vision finally returning so he could glare at the assailant.

He didn't hear what they-he said. His eyes were captivating enough, but the glow that enveloped them was a wonder he couldn't ignore.

His scales were shining a bright red, and the other's a perfect contrast of blue. He felt some kind of peace wash over him, as he couldn't stop staring into those eyes. Those glowing, slitted, blue eyes.

* * *

No. No, no, no. No nonononononono-

Absolutely NOT.

Lance was in a new state of panic as he recoiled and pulled away from the other Mer. Glow? _His_ Glow? No, this was not happening, this was the _worst_ time.

Lance wasn't ready. He had just explicitly told himself he didn't want to settle down and have eggs(though he wouldn't need to worry about that with a male Mer…) or start a family or whatever was supposed to come next. He didn't care that his face was pretty, and the red glow of his tail and scales were the most magnificent color he had ever seen, or that his eyes were so captivating that-

No! Stop! He was _not_ going to start with this...this...whatever this was! "This is _not_ a good time for me, so go back to wherever you came from and see me in...I don't know, 10 migrations or something."

He looked utterly confused. "What?"

"You heard me! I said I'm not ready!" Lance's anger boiled, not at his...Mate(he shuddered, the thought of settling down making him nauseous) but because of the situation. Like he said, he wasn't ready. He still had more exploring to do, he wanted to travel and get away from the Shoal and have some _freedom_ and _go places_ and _see new things_. He didn't want to return to the Shoal and make a family, or get a job and have responsibilities, because he couldn't do everything he wanted to with a mate and guppies. If only he had been born a Migrating Mer.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Trilled the Red Mer, his voice sounding low and rough, but also melodic and pleasant to the ears…

 _Stop that Lance_. "Good! Because I don't want to be with you either!"

"What the hell?! I never said I wanted anything to _do_ with you!"

Lance was rummaging through his mind for any kind of retort that sounded more smart than 'Good, so there!' when their glow dissipated and all that was left to light up the rocks and coral around them were their bioluminescent eyes. This was...unexpected. What did this mean? Was it a mistake? Did he miss some vital information he was told about when a Mer meets their Glow? Probably. Either way, at least he didn't have to deal with it anymore. Maybe they weren't actually Mates and it was just some kind of hormonal anomaly that made their bodies think somehow they were compatible. Stupid biology.

"What happened? What did you do?" The Mer looked around and twirled in the water like he was looking for the cause of the glowing disappearance. "Did you turn it off or something?"

"Uh, no, I'm sure it was all just some big misunderstanding. Because trust me, there's _nothing_ attractive about you." Lying had never tasted so sour on his lips before.

This strange Mer looked like a combination of anger, offense, and hurt washed through him and the only indication was the expressions on his face. Lance felt a stab when he saw the twitch of insecurity glass over his eyes before turning defensive. "I don't know what your problem is, but trust me, I want _nothing_ to do with you either."

Why did those words hurt more coming from him than his own mouth? "Whatever, strange Mer, why are you even here? Did you migrate or something?" He gave him a once over. He looked a little strange, even for a Half Scale like him. He looked, incomplete somehow. His scales densely covered his shoulders and hands, like they were trying to complete what should have been a full cover with fins extending from his forearms, but were instead an unfinished painting. In fact, the only fins he had were at the end of his tail. No wonder he couldn't swim properly. He had nothing to help maneuver properly in the water.

And his eyes were different too. Besides the fact that their color didn't match their scales like normal Mers, his pupils were round. Hm, did that mean he couldn't see as well either?

"Migrate? No, I live here."

"Really? _I've_ never seen you. What Shoal are you from?"

"...Shoal?"

This was getting weirder by the moment. "What, did you live under seaweed or something? You don't know what a Shoal is?"

His defenses were back up, trying to mask the sudden nervousness Lance saw just before it disappeared. "Whatever, I'm out of here."

Lance wasn't particular to follow him when he swam off, but a slight bit of frustration bubbled up inside him. Who was _he_ to reject _him_? Did he think he was better than him or something? What a jerk. Lance was _totally_ awesome and that Mer should be _jealous_ they weren't mates. "Hey, get back here!"

The Red Mer sped up. "I thought you wanted nothing to do with me." He grunted back.

"Yeah, well, you're not allowed to blow me off, that's _my_ job!"

He almost smacked into him again when he stopped. "Do you hear yourself? You're making no sense. First you want me to leave, now you want me to stay so _you_ can leave. Drama queen much?"

Lance didn't know what a drama queen was but he knew he was insulted. "Hey! I'm not a drama queen or whatever! _I'm_ the one who said I didn't want to be with you first, so it's _my_ duty to flip my tail and float away."

He deadpanned. "...You don't know what drama queen means, do you?"

He felt his ego sting, even though he didn't know what he meant. He was being condescending, that's all he knew. "Whatever Mullet."

"Wha...How do you even know what that _is_?"

He puffed his chest. "I know a stupid haircut when I see one."

"That didn't answer my…"

"Anyway! So here's my tail, don't get too disappointed when you realize what a catch you missed."

"Why you-"

"Lance?" The better-than-red-Mer looked up to see Plaxum floating down with her comrades. "What's going on?"

"What the hell is wrong with your _faces_?" Yelled his Not-Mate. He looked like he had been violated somehow.

"Nothing's wrong!" Said Blumfump, even though the octopus on his head didn't help because _he_ looked like an octopus. "We're covering our faces so no one recognizes us."

Lance snickered. "I'm pretty sure this Mer wouldn't recognize you without them, he's been living under a dome of seaweed."

"No I haven't!"

"Lance, we're on a mission! We have to find the princess! Is this the Mer you were _supposed_ to distract?" She looked angry, but not worried. She must have guessed he wasn't an enemy too.

Red looked at him. "Oh, so _that's_ why you were being weird."

"I'm not weird! You're weird!"

He folded his arms. "Great comback, _Lance_."

He was appalled. "How do you know my name?"

"She just said it!"

He felt stupid, blushing in embarrassment slightly. "Oh."

"Well, I'm not here to mess with whatever 'mission' you people are on, so if you'll excuse me…" Lance and the weird jellyfish Mers watched him leave, heading straight up. Lance suddenly became confused and curious. Wasn't 'up' where the surface was? Mer's didn't travel that far, not for fear of encountering Land Walkers. Either this guy was brave or stupid.

Maybe he _did_ live somewhere around here, but in the wall or something? If he was that close to the surface, maybe he knew more about it. If he knew more about it, then maybe he could help them find this princess Plaxum kept talking about.

But that would mean asking for his help. And Lance _didn't_ want to do that. Not after how much of a jerk he was being.

"Why's he going up? Maybe he knows more about the Land Walkers?" Asked Swirn.

"He could help us then!" Said Plaxum, becoming excited. She was about to turn and swim after him when they heard a call vibrating through the waters.

"There they are!"

"Ah, swim!"

Lance watched in confusion as the three of them split off into different directions and swam off before he could say anything. He didn't know who to follow, but didn't have to think about it long when two Mers swam up and surrounded him. It was the Guard.

Great. Not only did he fuck up his chance with the trial, but he was caught swimming out of Altean Territory.

He was _never_ going to see the open ocean again...

* * *

Ah, the end, I liked this better than how I had it, I needed to get him back to the Shoal anyway, and this ended up flowing better. Hope you guys liked it! Thank you for the comments! I love you guys!


	8. Chapter 8 Mission Accepted

A/N: Sorry this is late, work, work, cold, and work. I also joined a Voltron Parady Skit! So far we're calling it VVO but I'll keep you updated!

Chapter 8 Mission Accepted

When Keith broke the surface he had to expunge water from his lungs. It was something he would have to get used to, unless he did it before coming up. It made sense. He couldn't breathe in the air if there was still water in there. At least it didn't hurt as much if he had been fully human.

That was a wild ride. So that's what mermaids, er, Mers were like. Not what he pictured…considering. Then again, it was probably because they didn't know he was human. That might have made his day a little worse.

He noticed there had been a difference in the Mers between Lance and those jellyfish heads(thank god they weren't actually their heads). Lance looked like…him. As in, only half of him was scaled, and his eyes glowed in the dark. The others looked more…fishy. Maybe Lance was half human like him. If he hadn't been so full of himself and completely rude he would think about maybe seeing him again to ask more questions.

Was that a good idea though? Maybe he should talk to Shiro.

No, bad idea. Shiro would flip. He was already nervous about him going down alone, and after that Mer bit and attacked him… No, he would turn all "Dad" and start telling him he couldn't go.

Though, it wasn't like he could stop him; Shiro couldn't breathe underwater like Keith. But he needed to talk to someone. Maybe Matt and Pidge?

No, Matt would just tell Shiro.

But maybe he could talk to Pidge. They were like partners in crime. They did a lot of things Shiro and Matt would disapprove of.

Like setting bottle rockets off in the gym.

Or riding a go-cart through the halls.

Well, it was mostly him who did all the reckless stuff, Pidge just used him as her guinea-pig to test her inventions out on. He didn't care that he was the one who got expelled. He didn't want to bring her down with him, and it was his idea anyway. He didn't fit in that school anyway.

So more than likely she was going to hook him up with some gadgets or stuff to study all this new historical discovery. He could be a spy or something. It sounded kind of exciting.

So it was settled, he was telling Pidge.

—

"What were you thinking? You could have gotten hurt! There are sharks out there, ones bigger than your little pet that could actually eat you whole!"

"Don't speak badly of Lancey-Lance!"

"Lance, please focus. Or did you forget you're in trouble?" Rosa nervously swam back and forth in front of her defiant looking little brother. "This is bad, what if Mother finds out? She'll kill me!"

"Glad to know you're only worried about yourself."

"And she'll never let you take the trial again!" Okay, that was a little more concerning. "Hell, we don't even know if the Hunters will let you anymore!"

"Come on, I'm perfectly fine. No harm, no foul."

"What were you doing following those crazy Mers anyway?"

"Uhhh…" This was a complicated issue. He could tell her about their crazy little ploy to rescue some 'princess' but that would only make him look bad for following. "They, uh, said they knew a place to catch more prey for the trial."

Goddess, the more he thought about it, the more he berated himself for such a stupid decision? His impulsive tendencies really needed to be brought under control. This was getting too much. Why was he like this? Why was his brain against him?

"All the way over to the wall? Lance, that's all the way across the Arus Valley."

"Well, I didn't know I would go that far."

She gave him a look. "Lance."

He threw his arms up in exasperation. "Whatever! It's over! I failed the trial anyway, isn't that punishment enough?"

She looked defeated, even though he was the one who lost the most.

He thought back to the red Mer. He hadn't even gotten his name. Was he really his Glow? Why did the glow disappear? He heard sometimes Mer's Glow would call to them and they could feel a pull that would lead them to each other. Maybe that was why it all happened.

"I guess." Said Rosa, letting herself sink to sit on a smooth rock. "What am I going to do with you?"

"You could start by not telling Mom."

She glared at him but sighed in response. "Yeah, let's keep this between us. I'll make sure the Hunters know not to make a big deal of this."

He felt guilty. He didn't know why she always covered for him. He would do so many reckless stuff, and it wasn't like they were keeping secrets together. He was the screw-up, and she always covered. He didn't know why, and it made him feel so much more guilty for it. Maybe because they were the youngest? "So what do I do now? I have to wait a year to become a hunter?"

"You're the one who messed up."

Ugh, this was stupid. He crossed his arms and glared at the coral growing on the floor.

"Let's just sleep on it, okay?"

"Wait." He didn't know how to bring this up because he seriously didn't want to let on it even happened, but he wanted to know. "Is it possible your Glow is a mistake?"

She looked confused and concerned. "No, what do you mean?"

"I mean like…say you meet your 'Glow' and your scales get all glowy and stuff, but then it goes out…"

She switched to solid concern. "Well, that could be for several reasons. Why do you want to know?"

He nervously laughed. "Well, just curious because… I met two Mers who were Glows and it just made me more curious."

She switched to convinced, which was good for him, but sometimes it didn't mean she actually was. "Well, when you meet Your Glow, you both begin glowing, obviously, but it doesn't mean much except that you've met."

"What? Why?"

"Well, there's a…ritual, I guess? You might glow, but you still have to accept each other as your Mate. Nothing is set in stone, sometimes Mers don't mate with their Glow."

"Really? Why not?"

"Several reasons. Maybe they're already mated and wish to have only one. Maybe there are circumstances where they can't be together. Any number of reasons."

"Is that common?"

She frowned. "Not really."

"So how do you 'accept' them? Just say, sure, let's be mates?"

She chuckled. "No. It's usually sealed with a kiss. Sometimes there's a dance, sometimes there's not. It depends on the Mer."

"Oh…" So maybe when they rejected each other, they stopped glowing? "So if you reject them, the glow goes away?"

"Yes."

Did that mean he fucked up his chance? It wasn't that he didn't want to find His Glow, he just didn't want to be with him now. "So then I can't-"

"Lance McClain? Princess Allura wishes to see you." They were cut off when two Mer Guards appeared at the entrance to their home.

Lance and Rosa looked at each other in shock. Was it because of him leaving the trial? Or was it because of those Mers he helped?

Either way, this was _not_ good.

—

The first thing he did when he got back to shore was text Shiro that he was going to Pidge's house. Shiro always left Keith's cell and a change of clothes for him hidden in the cave.

Shiro's reply was to be back before dinner. He was such a dad.

"So I wanted to talk to you about something." He said to Pidge as he headed back up the streets from the beach to his neighborhood. "Something you gotta promise you won't tell Shiro or Matt."

"You know you don't even have to ask." She said, her tone automatically going into a sinister mode. "What is it?"

He looked around to make sure he wasn't close enough to anyone to overhear. "I met other mermaids."

"You _what_! Are you serious?! On your first dive?!"

"Keep it down, you're louder than I am and you're not even on speaker." He hissed.

"Oh my god, get over here, I have so many questions."

And she did. "So what did they look like? Were they like the one that bit you? I didn't get to see it so I need to know. Could you speak their language? If they surfaced, could they speak ours? Were they malicious or friendly? Could they tell you weren't fully mermaid? What do they think of humans? Do they even _know_ about humans? Why don't they come to the surface? Or _do_ they and we just never see them?"

"You need to slow down because I didn't get any of that."

"Okay first, tell me what they were like." She said, pulling out a notebook. "Wait, tell me what happened."

"Pick one Pidge!"

"Start from the beginning."

He sighed. Ugh, she was all over the place and it was making him frustrated. He needed structure, this was getting on his nerves. "Well I made it down to the Sigsbee Encampment, but I didn't get all the way to the floor. The darker it got, the easier it was to see."

"Interesting." She was jotting down notes at lightning speed, almost as fast as when she typed. He knew he wouldn't be able to read it with her handwriting.

"I think it's because my eyes started glowing."

"Like bioluminescence?"

"I guess. Anyway, I saw another pair of glowing eyes and that's when I realized it was another mermaid-er-merman."

"Oh, so it was a guy?"

"Well, I think? He didn't have breasts."

"Interesting." More scratching on paper. "Did you talk to him?"

"Not at first. I didn't know if he would be hostile or not. I mean, the last one was."

"Right. What did he look like? Did he look like the one that bit you?"

"No. He kinda looked like me? Sorta. His upper half didn't have scales, mostly. He had more than me, and a lot more fins and his ears were webbed and the same color as his scales."

"Were they red or another color?"

"Blue."

"Hm. Wonder why your's are red."

Keith shrugged. "He had sharper teeth, like a shark's. I even think there were more than one layer."

"Yeah, yours just look like vampire teeth. Maybe because you're more human? He was probably born a merman."

"Makes sense." But why did he still have fewer scales than the one on the boat? Or the other ones he met? "We ran into other Mers."

"Mers?"

"That's what they call themselves."

"So you talked to him?"

"Oh, yeah. He was a conceited jerk, but otherwise pretty friendly." Oh, he forgot, they started to glow when they met. Should he mention that?

"So do you think they're like humans? With different kinds of personalities instead of just one specific trait? Like other animals?"

"I don't know. I just met the four."

"Tell me about the others."

"They were more like the ones on the ship; they had scales all over. But they had jellyfish on their heads. And one of them had octopus arms."

"Jellyfish heads? Is that normal?"

"They said it was to cover their faces. They wanted to hide their identity or something."

"Hmmm…" She jotted more notes. "I think you should go talk to them again."

"And say what?"

"I don't know, maybe find out why they needed to protect their identity?" She wrote down some notes. "Maybe they're looking for the mermaid you guys captured."

"You mean killed."

The room became as cold as the core of their bones. "Then you really _should_ go undercover."

"Yeah, I guess. But what exactly are we trying to do?"

"First, just do reconnaissance. We'll come up with something from there."

"Are we telling Matt and Shiro?"

"God no, they would go ballistic if they thought the mermaids hiding their identities were looking for the mermaid you killed."

Shiro killed. Keith felt the need to reconfirm it in his mind because he already felt sick just thinking about it.

"And for Christ's sake, _don't_ let them know you know anything about it."

"I wasn't going to." He deadpanned. He wasn't stupid. They were more dangerous than sharks; an apex predator with more intelligence. They could be too dangerous. "Anything else?"

"Keep the communicator in your ear. I'll make one small enough so they won't see it. We can record everything and you can interpret it later."

This was like a real-life mission. Something he didn't get the chance to do in the Garrison. He finally felt like he had a purpose. This was starting to fill a hole he felt in the pit of his soul. This was what he needed.

So why did he feel a nervous sickness in the pit of his stomach?

—

Lance wasn't looking forward to seeing the Princess. Not because he didn't like her because of course, he did, but because of the circumstances. He fucked up. He fucked up royally, and Royally was about to tell him just that.

He was glad Rosa came with him, but he was also ashamed because she was about to find out exactly why he screwed up the trial. He felt sick to his stomach. This was the worst thing he had ever done. Looking back, he wanted to smack himself over and over until he knocked himself out before making such a bad decision.

What was he going to do now? He would _never_ be able to leave the Shoal again.

What was worse, Princess Allura wasn't the only Royalty there waiting for him. Her Advisor was with her, and the Queen of the East Mers who had migrated to join them for the trial.

"What exactly did you do?" His sister whispered to him. If his sister wasn't going to kill him, his mother sure was.

He couldn't even respond. He was going to be shunned by the whole Shoal. He wanted to go squish himself with a rock.

"Lance, we heard about what happened in the trial." Said Allura as they swam up. She looked surprisingly calm instead of disappointed.

Rosa gave him a look.

Lance spotted Hunk floating there with them, and he somehow felt worse. Hunk looked worried, so he didn't know if he actually knew what was happening or not.

"Can I ask what's going on?" Said Rosa, swimming in front of her brother.

"I'm not surprised he didn't tell you." Said Allura. "I'm glad he didn't, it would make this more difficult."

Rosa glared at him, and he sank back.

"Lance, buddy, what's going on?"

"I'll explain." Said the Queen of the East Migrants. "During the trial, Lance came in contact with three Mers of my Pod and they convinced him to help them find the missing princess."

The shock was more evident in him than his sister and Hunk. Wait, so that was _real_.

"Missing princess?" Whispered Rosa.

Allura nodded. "It's being kept quiet to keep their Pod calm, but yes, Queen Luxia's daughter Florona is missing."

"So wait, those Mers _weren't_ crazy?"

There was a bit of silence. "If you thought they were crazy, why'd you follow them?" Asked Allura.

He couldn't answer. Luckily Rosa did. "Lance has an innate sense of compassion, and if he felt they really needed his help, whether he believed them or not, he couldn't say no."

That made a lot more sense than his buzzing head did. But it made sense. A lot of the times his actions spoke more about him than his thoughts, and when someone pointed it out the pieces seemed to fall into place.

Queen Luxia smiled warmly at him, and the sense of dread began to disappear. "The Mers you were helping are actually friends with my daughter, Florona. They took it upon themselves to go look for her, against my wishes. They shouldn't be putting themselves in danger. I was hoping you could help us."

"Wha…" His brain went blank.

"Wait, so you _aren't_ mad at Lance?" Asked Hunk.

"Oh, we are." Said Allura. "But he's the only one that's been in contact with them, so we are hoping he can convince them to come back and let the Guard do their job looking for the Princess."

"So you're putting my brother undercover?" Asked Rosa.

"They'll trust him." Said Queen Luxia.

Lance was a little confused. "But I was captured and brought back. Won't they think I spilled or something?"

"We've got that figured out." Said Allura. "You'll leave the Shoal and say you escaped after finding out about the Princess, and we'll send Guards to 'capture' you so they will be convinced you're on their side."

"Won't they see through that?" Asked Hunk. "And why am I here?"

"You're a friend, it would make sense that Lance would recruit help. And you can keep an eye on him."

"Hey!"

"Sounds about right." Mumbled Hunk.

"I want to go with." Said Rosa.

"They are less likely to suspect friends helping instead of siblings. Especially since your family is with the council." Said Allura. Rosa frowned. "Lance, Hunk, your mission is to keep them from going to the surface and convince them to come back to the Shoal."

The two friends looked at each other. "Why keep them from the surface? Besides the obvious." Asked Hunk.

The two royals looked at each other. "That is confidential." Said Allura. "Just do as we ask."

"Rosa, we ask that you keep this secret. We don't want anyone knowing about this, just in case it gets back to Plaxum and the others." Said Queen Luxia. "This includes family and friends."

Rosa didn't like the idea, but she nodded. "Promise nothing will happen to my brother."

Allura looked remorseful when she nodded. "I know this is a dangerous mission for them to go into the open ocean, please trust they will know what to do."

Lance was filled with new excitement and determination. This was an actual _mission_. How could he say no? "I'll be okay, Rosa. Please trust me."

"I'll keep an eye on him." Said Hunk, but he looked more nervous than excited.

"Yeah, I'll have Hunk with me! The most cautious Mer in the Shoal." Hunk shot him a look. "I accept this mission!" Allura and Luxia nodded.

Lance had never felt so alive than in that moment. This was it. This was his chance to prove he was the best Tracker and Hunter in the Shoal. He could even become part of the Guard! Or a Warrior!

Lance was _not_ going to mess this up.

* * *

Well, this took a long time, though I had half of it written right after I finished the last chapter sooooo, idk stuff happened, I had to make big changes, and I'm finally adjusting. I hope you guys like it!


	9. Chapter 9 Re-Encounter

I'm so sorry for the late update! I can't use the holidays as an excuse anymore lol Well here's the next chapter!

Chapter 9 Re-Encounter

There was a special unit in the Royal Guard that did stuff like this. He wasn't sure if they were still active, since most races of Mer were peaceful to each other and they didn't interact with Land Walkers(or weren't supposed to) anymore.

 _Let's ignore that fun little prank_. Lance snickered to himself. Not that he was too interested in Land Walkers, but they were still interesting. Fun to scare, anyway. Why were Mers so cautious of them?

He felt a little bad about deceiving those Eastern Mers when they were just concerned about looking for their Princess. He would probably do the same thing if Princess Allura went missing. But Queen Luxia was just looking out for them, not wanting them to be in danger either. So he really wasn't _betraying_ them. At least that's what he kept telling himself.

He still felt a little guilty, even with the thrill of being some kind of spy.

"You gotta tell me what happened, Lance. Why did you swim off with these Mers if you didn't believe them in the first place?"

Lance had been waiting for this conversation since they left the Shoal. He was prepared. He went over the events again and again, and finally made sense of everything. "I kinda owed them. When I was taking the trial, a Mer asked if I could help hunt. Well, needless to say I was duped and she tied me to a rock. Then Plaxum came and untied me, and she said in payment I would have to help her find the missing Princess."

"Lance…" Hunk sighed. "I always said infatuation was going to be your downfall. What if a shark had found you first? You wouldn't have been able to defend yourself or swim away."

"Duly noted, but it didn't and I agreed to help Plaxum."

"You didn't think the rest through, did you?"

"Hunk, this is no time for your scrutinous comments, we have a job to do." They had already traveled whale lengths away from the Shoal, Lance saying he last saw them by the Wall.

"How are we even supposed to find them in all the ocean? They could be anywhere."

"You forget, I took the trials to become a Hunter, which means I can track." He said, proudly tapping his nose. "I was around them, so I know their scent. And they smelled like jellyfish." He shivered at the memory. Jellyfish were not so appetizing, and they had a horrible smell.

"Ah, I could really go for some jellyfish right now."

"As much as I love your cooking Hunk, I refuse to touch _that_." He paused and sniffed the waters. "I think I got something." He looked around the forest of coral and rocks, recognizing the area. "Follow me."

Lance recognized that smell. That (fill in what Keith smells like). Wait…there was no jellyfish smell.

"I thought your friends were Eastern Mers."

 _Shells!_ Lance pulled Hunk behind some jutting rock to hide them. That wasn't the Easter Mers, that was his supposed "Glow". And by supposed, he meant real Glow he rejected and fucked up.

What if he started glowing again? What if the Mer mentioned the glow? He didn't want questions from Hunk, he didn't want to deal with his screw up right now.

And what if Hunk said something about Glows being Mates? The other Mer(he never got his name) didn't seem to know anything about the Glow. What if he decided he wanted to be together with him? Or worse, what if he rejected _him?_

"Uhhh, I have no idea who that is, so maybe we should split up."

"What? Lance, that makes no sense. Why would we—"

Lance didn't hesitate to start pushing him in the opposite direction. "I just realized the other Mers might get suspicious if I bring a random person with me." He spewed out without letting Hunk get a word in of protest. "They might catch on to our operation. You head back until I give you the okay."

"But what about—"

"Don't worry, I got this." He said with fake confidence. "I'm a Hunter, I know how to sneak around predators."

"So you aren't—"

"No, I promise." He shooed him along. "I'll meet you back at the Shoal and let you know I convinced them to let you in on the mission."

"Okay…" hunk reluctantly swam off, looking back at Lance a couple of times in concern. Lance waved him off, waiting till Hunk was far enough away that he couldn't see him through the dense, dark waters of the ocean.

Then he took a breath, because he had to convince his Glow to stay away till he could get things straightened out with the Eastern Mers. Now how was he going to approach him?

"Aren't you Lance?"

Lance let out a screech of surprised when he turned around to see the red Mer practically in his gills. "What? How? You scared me!"

The red Mer smirked. A smirk of arrogance and cocky confidence. A smirk that sent a light of frustration into the pit of Lance's stomach. "I happen to have a good nose."

"Ha, well, I bet mine's better." He challenged before he could say anything.

The red Mer glared at him. "I didn't come here to compete with you. I had questions."

"What kind of questions?" Lance asked cautiously. He wasn't going to mention the glow thing, was he?

He suddenly changed from haughty attitude to bashful nervousness. It was kinda cute. And he hated it. "Well, you're kinda the first Mer I've met, and I just had questions."

"What, were you living under a rock?"

He switched back to a glare, and Lance decided he preferred it over the innocent look that made him question…things. "No, I was just…sheltered…"

Lance chuckled. "Sounds like the same thing."

"Well, it wasn't a _rock_. And you can't live under a rock, it would crush you!"

Lance lifted an eyebrow. Did he not get that was an expression? "Anyway, I'm kinda busy, so you'll have to find someone else."

"What about your friend that just swam off?"

Lance nearly choked on water. He _saw_ them? How long had he been there? "He can't, he's headed back to the Shoal."

"What's a Shoal?"

Lance thought his brain was going to stop every time this Mer opened his mouth. "You don't…you haven't…" He took a deep breath through his gills. "Whatever, I don't have time for this. I have mission to do." Lance wasn't going to waste his time answering stupid questions when he had Mers he needed to find.

"A mission? Are you like a secret agent or something?" Asked the Mer, following him.

"Wha—yes, I am, and you're ruining my mission. Now scram."

"If you were a secret agent, why would you tell me? Isn't that against protocol?" He asked suspiciously.

"Wha?!" He had to pause and turn a shocked and offended glare to the red Mer. "How dare—Who are _you_ to tell me what I am or am not supposed to do?"

"I'm Keith."

He blinked. "What?"

"You asked who I was. I'm Keith."

"Keith…" Lance tried out. It came too naturally from his lips for him to like it. "That's a stupid name."

"What, like Lance is any better?"

"It most certainly _is!_ I was named after my grandpap! He was one of the most skilled trackers in the Shoal!"

"Good for him."

Why was…This jerk was getting on his nerves. There was _no way_ they could be Glows. "What can I do to get you to go away?"

"Let me help. With…whatever you're doing."

"That won't…" Lance paused. Maybe he could use this to his advantage. If he could get him to go away, he would be out of the picture. But he couldn't let him in on his mission. _That_ he knew. But what could he do to get him scared enough to leave him alone?

A thought occurred. If he was so sheltered, then he didn't know the area. He could get him lost, or the very least too scared to come back. And he knew just the place. "Have you ever heard of the Black Pond?"

* * *

I know it's a little short(little? try lot) but I wanted to get an update out there and if I had continued from this spot it would have been heeeellllllaaaa long. Anyway, sorry for the late update! Thank you all for reading!


	10. Chapter 10 Black Pond

Whoops, this was hella late. Sorry for the late update, but here it is! Thank you for reading!

Black Pond

This had turned into a huge inconvenience. He had a mission. A mission the princess had given him. He didn't have time to entertain some random Mer he had just met.

Said random Mer that happened to be his Glow... but that wasn't the point. Lance needed to get rid of him. Possibly for good. He already fucked up anyway. Seeing him would just remind him of how much of a screw up he was.

Which was why this mission was important. He needed to prove himself. He might be the fastest swimmer with the best nose, but if he always messed everything up, then it didn't matter.

They had swam into darker corners of the deep. Rocks and caverns canopied overhead as they, jutting up like jagged pillars. Maneuvering through them was easy when not swimming fast. Lance swam around and over different columns of spiked rocks, mostly for fun and entertaining the thought of the red Mer getting lost. If he didn't know how to get there, he wouldn't know how to come back.

"So what's this 'black pond', and why is it so important?" Asked the red Mer, er... Keith? (what kind of a name was Keith? Even his name was stupid.)

Crap, he hadn't thought that far ahead. He started twisting the fins on his wrists, trying very hard not to show the anxiousness in his face. Quick, come up with something. "It, uh, it's where Land Walkers go. Yeah, they have been interested in it and we're supposed to find out why." Nailed it.

Keith gave him a suspicious look, squinting with doubt. Keith wasn't tense, but his arms were crossed in a guarded manner. His eyes were searching Lance's, and the blue Mer knew he was caught. "Land Walkers?" His voice sounded accusatory, like the name was made up to describe something simple.

Lance had to physically stop. Did he just… Did he not know…

He was starting to believe his initial thought that this Mer did, in fact, live under a rock. "You don't know what a Land Walker is?" Lance's face was scrunched in shock, with an added tick of scrutiny.

Keith went red, taking offense to the accusation. "What? No! I mean, yes!" He flushed from the mistake. "I just didn't know you knew." He countered, his crossed arms tightening around his chest and his voice softening slightly, embarrassed. "So what, you've seen one?" He turned around on Lance, trying to sound accusatory back only it came out defensive.

Lance chuckled, puffing out his chest. "Of course I have." "They come down here all the time." He waved his hand through the water, making bubbles. "The Black Pond seems to be their current interest."

Keith's demeanor changed as he gave a shocked look. "Have they seen you?" His trill rose with alarm, with a slight hitch of fear almost hidden by the shock.

"Maybe once or twice." Lance shrugged nonchalantly, his smirk cocky. That's right, he was cool. He would show Keith how awesome he was.

Keith seemed to look irrationally mad. "Don't you think that's dangerous?!"

Lance became confused. Why was he angry? Lance could handle himself. Why would he be so worried anyway? It wasn't like Keith liked him.

Lance frowned, not wanting to admit to himself how the thought stung a little.

Keith's arms uncrossed(whoa) and he looked like he was going to grab Lance's shoulders and shake them. "What if they tried to catch you? What if they take video or something and show it to the world?!"

"Video?" What a strange Mer, he thought. Where was he from again? "What's a 'video'?"

Keith seemed to hesitate, his eyes darting away. "It's, uh, something hu-land walkers use to take...moving pictures?" Even he sounded unsure of the explanation.

Lance had no idea what he was talking about. Whatever, it doesn't matter. He rolled his eyes, landing back on Keith with a bored expression. "Look, land walkers are stupid. They can't see in the dark, and it's so obvious when they're down here." He said, counting on his fingers to get his point across.

"Obvious?" Keith sounded more confused than sarcastic.

"They need light." Lance retorted with a 'duh' sound. "So it's not like we can't avoid them."

Keith looked thoughtful, his thick eyebrow arching and his eyes drifting upward as he tapped his chin.

Lance continued like he was talking to himself. "And whenever they've seen me, it's just a glimpse. They're so easy to scare." He laughed.

Keith's cheeks puffed in annoyance. It was... cute. Lance shook his head, trying to chase away the invasive thought. He folded his arms to hide the insecurity he wanted to ignore.

Why was he giving him that look? What did he care if land walkers were so easily frightened? He wasn't a sympathizer was he? Ugh, Lance had no idea what was so special about them. They were ugly, slimy creatures with two awkward looking tails that didn't bend right for swimming and could only last down here so long. They were fragile creatures, and there was nothing interesting about them. "Anyway, so, in conclusion, we don't need to worry about them." He waved boredly, his arm fins fanning with the movement. "This is our domain, they can't survive down here without those weird tanks on their backs. So if anything gets too out of hand we can just knock them off. Boom, done. No big deal."

Keith paled. His shoulders tensed as his eyes widened and the glow of his red iris' seemed to dim. "How would you know that?" His trill seemed to squeak an octave higher.

Lance realized how that sounded and stiffened. "It's not what you think! I-I just accidentally knocked one off one time..." He looked anywhere but at Keith, his face flushed in embarrassment. He paused, realizing how that sounded, then backtracked. "B-but he got it back on! He was just...flailing for a while before he was able to grab it, heh heh…" Lance's shoulders sank in and he tried to give Keith as innocent of a smile he could.

Keith's eyes darted away nervously, not able to keep eye contact. His shoulders were still tight as he nervously spoke. "S-So, about that black pond?"

"Right!" Good, change of subject. "This way." He motioned with his tail for him to follow. They were pretty close, and Lance didn't bother zig-zagging around mounds of spiked rock anymore, and lead him straight to the sight of the Black Pond.

They emerged into open water, the flat ocean floor emptied of life. A couple of crater looking dents in the ground rose up out of the sand, but didn't have anything but hermit crabs and other crustaceans in them. They could see the pond from a distance, but they couldn't see inside until they were upon it.

Lance searched Keith's face to see his reaction. This Mer was so sheltered, he might not have seen anything like this.

And Keith looked immediately interested. "It really does look like an underwater pool." He swam a little closer, his eyes glistening with curiosity.

Lance tilted his head and looked at Keith with no understanding in his eyes. "Underwater?"

"Like where we're..." Keith looked at him, stopping like he realized what he was going to say wouldn't clarify anything. He crossed his arms again, his eyes drifting up as he searched for the words to explain what he meant. "Have you ever been to the surface?"

Lance remembered some old stories and myths about this "surface" thing, but no, he had never seen it. "Of course I have! I don't live under a rock like you!" He immediately retorted, the lie slipping out too easily, even for his taste. There had been a couple mentions recently of the surface, mainly from the Princess and the Migration Queen. Plaxum mentioned she believed Florona had ventured to it. He had no idea where it was or what it was made of. He was interested, but he still had a hard time sneaking out of the Shoal, let alone to some place called "surface".

Keith flushed, face contorting into that aggressive look. "I don't live under a rock!"

Lance scoffed. "You might as well. You didn't even know what this was!" He motioned to the pond below them.

"So what if I've never seen it…" His voice trailed off, and he looked like a child who had been caught making up stories. "I-I just never come this deep..." He sounded unsure, quieting like he was embarrassed to admit that.

Lance had to stop in thought. Never been this deep? Where exactly did he live?

He brushed the thought aside for now and focused on the silly frown Keith was giving. So he hadn't been this deep, huh? He smirked. "Why? You scared?"

Keith's face went back to red, but it was more from anger. "I'm not scared!"

Lance was starting to enjoy getting on Keith's nerves. He was fun to tease.

Keith puffed his cheeks. "So what do I need to do?" Keith growled out, crossing his arms defensively. "You said we need to figure out why the hu-land walkers are interested in this?"

Why did he keep stuttering when he said 'land walkers'? It would be one thing if he just called them something different, but why hide it?

Lance had other things to think about, like what excuse he could use to make Keith leave and not come back. He couldn't come up with anything legitimate, so he just stated the obvious. "We know they're interested in what's down there. They stick weird poles inside." He motioned with his hands like he was slipping a pole down into the black abyss.

"So we just need to see what's in there?" Keith asked, still studying the pond with focused interest. "Okay."

He is so intense with his expressions, Lance thought. "Yeah, so...wait, what?" Lance had to double take as the red Mer swam up to the pond. "What are you...?"

Keith stuck his hand in.

Lance blanched. "What are you doing!" He shrieked, grabbing his hair in tight wads. "Crabs and fish have died in there! It petrifies them! See?!" He full body motioned to the crustaceans and sea creatures on the edges of the pond, where they lay pickled.

"It doesn't hurt." Said Keith, unconcerned, pulling his hand out and examining it front to back. "I think I've heard of this. I was looking up stuff about the Gulf of Mexico and what's inside it, and there was a mention of this 'Hot Tub of Despair' or something like it." He looked at Lance, his eyebrows shot up in excitement.

Lance crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "I have no idea what you mean and I really don't care."

Keith puffed his cheeks in frustration again. "It means this isn't completely dangerous, it's just a higher concentration of salt, so fish and crabs just suffocate, not petrify."

"What are you talking about? How do you know this?"

Keith, again, looked like he said too much. "Just...observation."

Lance knew that Keith knew he sensed bullshit. "Whatever, I give up on trying to figure you out." He turned back to the pond, curious now that he knew just sticking his hand in wouldn't petrify it. "I wonder what's so interesting about it. I wonder what's down there."

"Hmm..." Keith swam closer, studying the black surface like it was going to form answers for him. "Maybe we can just hold our breath and swim in."

"Hold our what and do what?"

Before Lance could get an answer, Keith sucked in water through his gills and suddenly dove in.

"What the fuck!" Lance screeched. What was he doing? Was he insane?! Did he just kill himself?!

Lance was swimming in circles and pulling at his hair. "What have I done? What have I done!?" No, no, this couldn't be happening. He screwed up. He screwed up!

His eyes were starting to sting. This couldn't be happening, he wasn't trying to kill his Glow. There, he said it, his Glow! How could he screw up this bad?!

Lance's gills felt like they were closing up, like he was suffocating in water. His chest hurt, his lungs felt like they were going to cave in on themselves, he felt like the water around him was going dizzy and he wanted to breathe. Why couldn't he breathe?

Lance was suddenly knocked over when a body burst from the pool, waving their tail with strong strokes like they were swimming for their life. The Mer swung their tail to stop themself just above the bond, hacking up clouds of black water from their gills.

It was Keith. Keith was alright. How...?

Lance could feel the water flow back into his gills as anger rose in his chest. "What the hell were you doing?! Trying to kill yourself?!"

Keith looked confused at the outburst, still trying to filter the water through his gills while taking a stroke back. "I was trying to see what was down there. I thought that's what you wanted!"

"You can't just dive into something that kills things! What if that had been you!" He practically pointed all his fins and arms at the dead sea creatures.

"I told you, it was just concentrated salt." He rolled his eyes, not seeming concerned at all. "As long as I didn't breathe it in, I would be fine." Keith explained, waving his hand in a blaise gesture.

"How would you even know that?!" Lance looked at him with frustration and disbelief, the mix showing in his furrowed eyebrows and wide eyes.

"I...uh..." Keith looked stumped, his eyes darting around and his mouth moving without sound. Why couldn't he just answer the damn question? What was he hiding? "It doesn't matter, I didn't find anything anyway." He said quickly and wide eyed. Lance was suspicious, until he registered what he said.

So he went all the way down? "Did you go all the way to the bottom?"

Keith's face was trying to turn a shade that matched his scales, and he couldn't look him in the eyes. "I didn't get that far. I needed to breathe so I came back up."

Lance felt suddenly smug. "What, can't hold your breath long enough?" Keith just growled at him. "I bet I could!"

Keith scrunched his eyebrows in frustration. "What? No you can't! And even if you did, it would be too dangerous to try."

"You just did it!"

He hesitated, but his expression didn't change. "Well, I...I know what I'm doing!"

Lance made a high pitched 'ugh' trill. "Are you saying I don't?!"

"Maybe!"

Why was this Mer being so pretentious? Why did he think he was better than Lance? He hadn't even been to the ocean floor! Lance was good at swimming. He was good at tracking and speed. Keith didn't know anything about him. "I'm the one they chose for the mission! I know more about this ocean than you!" Lance knew he could do whatever this Mer thought he could. Lance wasn't inferior. Lance could do this. He could track Plaxum and bring her back to the Shoal. He could be useful. There was a place for him. He knew it.

He had to…

Lance's chest felt like it was heating up. His fists clenched. He wasn't having this. He wasn't gonna be shown up. "You can't beat me!"

"I'm not trying-"

Lance didn't hear anything else as he dived into the dark cloud of thick water, feeling like he passed some kind of barrier where everything became both lighter and heavier. It took more effort to swim, and his eyes felt like they were drying, making him blink more. But he wasn't going to lose to that...jerk! He would show him. He was better at swimming and tracking and, and, holding his breath! He would show him, then Keith would have no choice but to admit he was better than him!

He could barely see where he was going, and if he was still going down. He was trying to swim in a straight line, but the weightlessness and the pressure was confusing him. And his eyes were starting to hurt. Not like before, when they stung at the sides and lower edges, but more like a sharper pain, like someone was poking it with a sharp rock. Blinking was starting to not affect it, and his chest was starting to hurt again, but he refused to open his gills. He was going to do this, he was going to reach the bottom.

And he did, by smacking right into a squishy substance. He shook his head and tried to ignore the screaming pain of his chest and the crusting of his gills, and focus on what he swam into.

It was a petrified face. Stuck in horror and decay, scales no longer vibrant but dull, with a gleam of grime over it. The person didn't even look normal; it's skin puffy and grey. It's eyes glazed with a layer of salt crusting over them.

Lance tried to let out a scream, but all that came in was thick salt and his lungs started to burn worse. He turned to swim straight up, his mind circling and flailing in multiple images of home, his friends, his family, that petrified face, Keith…

He didn't know how far he got as the glow of his eyes started to crust over and the pain in his chest started to fade. His mind rested in a state of emptiness, and the last thing to register was the pressure of something strong wrapping around his chest.

When Lance finally started reeling back to consciousness, all that came out was heavy coughing and the stinging pain of not being able to breathe. It hurt so much, but the water was starting to flow through his gills, washing out the thick black clouds that were almost settled in his lungs. He felt the water moving faster around his gills than around his person.

When the blinking of his eyes washed the salt away and began to glow blue again, he was finally able to see what was around him. He was sitting on the sandy floor, and the water that was moving around his gills were Keith's hands flapping around them. He could still see that face. That forever frozen face in fear. He didn't recognize them, but the fact that someone was down there, dead...

Lance wanted to shake the image from his mind, but it was hard. He switched to focusing on what was going on around him.

When he realized what was happening, he was more embarrassed that Keith saw him like this than upset that he almost died. "What are you doing?!" Lance shoved him away, dragging himself across the sand to get as far as possible from him. He didn't get very far.

"I was trying to help!" Keith yelled defensively. His brows were scrunched together and his cheeks turned a little bit red. Even in concern he sounded angry. "Moving water helps sharks breathe, so I figured it would help you too!"

Again with the weird specific knowledge. Where did he learn these things? "Well I didn't need your help!"

"Clearly you did! You almost drowned!"

What did drown mean? Lance didn't care, he was still trying to get over what just happened and the embarrassment of having him save him. "Whatever! I had it under control!"

Keith crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, especially when you passed out."

"I didn't...I was…" Lance flushed. "Whatever! Why would you care anyway?!"

"I-I don't know! I couldn't...I couldn't just let you..." Keith's trills started to trail off, and he, for some reason, looked away like he was embarrassed. His arms uncrossed slightly, and for some reason the look in his eyes turned into concern.

Lance had no idea what he had to be embarrassed about. And right now, he didn't care. He didn't want him to see him like this. Vulnerable, helpless, weak... Lance wanted to prove he was strong enough. He wanted to show he was...worthy. Not to this Mer, but to everyone.

Right?

He was more angry at himself than he was Keith. Why was he so weak? Why couldn't he show him, er, everyone that he could do it. That he could be useful and strong. That he could handle the mission.

If he couldn't even show Keith he was strong, what would he think of him?

No, Lance wasn't going to admit that he cared what Keith thought. This wasn't about him, it was about Lance, and Keith was just another person to prove. And he wasn't going to take the blame for this. "This is all your fault!" He caught himself saying before he could control the chirps coming out of his mouth. "If you weren't bothering me, I could be completing my mission right now!"

Keith's shoulders tensed and his brows furrowed. But the look in his eyes portrayed hurt. "I-I was trying to help!"

Lance didn't seem to care, he was still coughing up black clouds of salt and he didn't have the strength to get up. He was still shaken by the loss of breath and the image of that Mer. He had never experienced something that made him need to hold his breath, let alone choking on it. He clenched his fist above his heart, still feeling the ghost of pains in his chest. He looked tired, but his anger clearly showed in his eyes. If Keith hadn't been such an asshole and acted all superior, he wouldn't have thought about going in the pond. "And you almost got me killed!"

The silence that followed was expressed in Keith's face with hurt, physically making him snapback. Then it changed to anger as his fists clenched, then a combination of both. "I was trying to help..." He gritted through his teeth, but Lance heard him loud and clear. "Fine! I don't care about your stupid mission! Forget this! I'm out!" He threw his hands up in the water in frustration and turned around with a flick of his tail.

Lance watched the other Mer swim away, Keith's fins flicking and twitching with agitation as he disappeared into the darkness of the open ocean. Lance didn't know how he felt about seeing him go. On one hand, he accomplished his goal of making Keith leave, and he would probably never see him again.

But all he could feel was an emptiness form a hole inside his heart.

TBC

Hope you liked it!


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